LA wildfires: stronger winds threaten further destruction, officials warn

With the two biggest wildfires in Los Angeles still less than 20% contained, officials in California warned on Sunday that strengthening winds in the coming days threatened to expand the swath of destruction through the city that has already seen at least 16 people killed and many neighborhoods erased.

Three wildfires were still burning Sunday morning in Los Angeles county, where more than 150,000 people remained under an evacuation warning. Firefighters said shifting Santa Ana winds could blow the Palisades fire, which has razed almost 24,000 acres, back on itself towards the coast.

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, said on Sunday the fires would be the worst natural disaster in US history, “in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope”.

Newsom told NBC’s Meet the Press he had signed an executive order that would speed up disaster relief for victims. More than 12,300 homes and businesses have been destroyed, and more than 200,000 people displaced.

Meanwhile president-elect Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in eight days, continued to point fingers, taking to his Truth Social platform to level new criticism at Newsom and other California officials for alleged mismanagement before and during the outbreaks.

On Friday, Newsom ordered an inquiry into LA county’s water management after reports emerged that a critical reservoir was offline when the fires started, leaving some emergency hydrants with low water pressure before running dry.

The LA fire chief, Kristin Crowley, has been vocal about how water supply issues – and budget cuts – “failed” her firefighters.

Trump and other Republican politicians have singled out the beleaguered Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, for signing a budget that stripped $17m from the Los Angeles fire department.

A utilities worker views damage from the Palisades Fire, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, on Sunday. Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

“The fires are still raging in LA. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. What’s wrong with them?” Trump wrote. He has made a succession of false claims aimed at Newsom and other Democrats.

In an interview on Saturday with the podcast Pod Save America, Newsom said Trump was “delusional”, and attacked his threats to withhold disaster relief funds.

“He’s done it in the past, not just here in California. The rhetoric is very familiar, it’s increasingly acute, and obviously we all have reason to be concerned about it,” the governor said.

In the NBC interview on Sunday, he added: “Responding to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend another month. Every elected official that he disagrees with is very familiar with them. Mis- and disinformation I don’t think advantages or aids any of us.”

Forecasters, meanwhile, said a “red flag” warning would remain in place across Los Angeles county as winds picked up on Sunday, combined with cooler weather, and threatened further devastation.

Firefighter who is doing structure protection in Mandeville Canyon neighborhood in the of Brentwood area of Los Angeles during the Palisades fire on Saturday. Photograph: Jill Connelly/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

“Dry vegetation combined with the prolonged extreme fire weather conditions will support rapid spread and erratic behavior of any new or existing fires,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.

A glimmer of hope came with news that the smaller Kenneth fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties had been completely contained, and the Hurst fires in Los Angeles county was 89% under control.

That will free more of the 14,000 firefighters and other personnel, from multiple states as well as Mexico and Canada, to focus on the more severe, and deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, officials said.

The four fires have consumed about 62 sq miles (160 sq km), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), reported. All the reported deaths came from the Palisades and Eaton fires, which officials said were respectively only 11% and 27% contained by early Sunday. The death toll is expected to rise.

Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), warned Sunday that a significant threat remained.

“The winds are potentially getting dangerous and strong again. I believe the red flag warnings have been put back in place. This is still dangerous, and [people] need to make sure they’re listening to their local officials so they can keep themselves safe,” she told CNN’s State of the Union.

“I know that so many people probably want to get back into the area and check on their homes, but with winds picking back up, you never know which way they’re going to go. So they really need to pay attention, listen to what’s going on so they don’t get in harm’s way.”

County officials said Saturday that 22 people were arrested in the Eaton and Palisades fires, many charged with burglary and looting. A 6pm to 6am county wide curfew was in place, partly to protect the property of evacuated homeowners.

Burned homes are seen from above during the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

Officials issued new evacuation orders for eastern communities threatened by the Palisades fire, including the affluent Brentwood area. The city’s Mandeville Canyon Road is a narrow two-lane road that makes emergency access to, and evacuations from, the area’s pricey homes difficult.

The orders also encompass the Getty Center, which houses a large art collection, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A spokesperson for the J Paul Getty Trust, which funds the museum, said the institution was complying with the evacuation order and is now closed, with only emergency personnel in place.

• Additional reporting by Edward Helmore