CATASTROPHEUNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Los Angeles fires: Governor orders probe of water problems
Published 6 hours agoPublished 6 hours agolast updated 56 minutes agolast updated 56 minutes ago
California Governor Gavin Newsom said water shortage issues “likely impaired” firefighting. Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to 11. DW has the latest.
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A firefighter sprays a hose over a fence on Thursday
The California governor said water pressure issues likely left some neighborhoods vulnerable Image: Ringo Chiu/REUTERS
Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Authorities in Los Angeles on Friday raised the death toll in a series of wildfires this week to at least 11 people. Over 10,000 structures have been destroyed.
Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a probe into water supply problems hampering firefighting efforts.
Meanwhile, firefighters say they’ve gained some control over the two largest fires to the east and west of Los Angeles.
This is a rundown of major events involving the wildfires in the US state of California on January 11, 2025.
Skip next section LA fire chef says budget cuts hindered response
56 minutes ago56 minutes ago
LA fire chef says budget cuts hindered response
An LAFD firefighter hosing a burning apartment complex from the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, United States on January 8, 2025An LAFD firefighter hosing a burning apartment complex from the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, United States on January 8, 2025
The LAFD chief has said the city doesn’t have enough firefighters to tackle the ongoing blazesImage: Jon Putmanp/Anadolu/icture alliance
Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Chief Kristin Crowley on Friday said budget cuts by the city’s administration had hindered the service’s response as major wildfires continued to ravage the city.
Crowley said a $17 million (€16.6 million) cut in the budget for the fire department was having a negative impact on her agency’s ability to fight fires.
“We can no longer sustain where we are,” Crowley said in comments to broadcaster CNN. “We do not have enough firefighters.”
Crowley said she repeatedly tried to show city officials “how understaffed, under-resourced and underfunded the LAFD is.”
The department has seen a 55% increase in call volume since 2010, Crowley said, but the number of firefighters has been decreasing.
“I rang the bell that these additional cuts could be very, very devastating to our ability to provide public safety,” Crowley said.
“Right now we need to be fully, fully funded so that our firefighters can do their job,” Crowley added when asked what her message would be to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Governor Gavin Newsom, US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
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Skip next section New evacuation order issued in Palisades Fire
4 hours ago4 hours ago
New evacuation order issued in Palisades Fire
A new mandatory evacuation order was issued on Friday night for the Pacific Palisades area due to rapidly moving wildfire.
The order is in effect from Sunset Boulevard north to Encino Reservoir.
It also extended to Interstate 405 — one of the busiest freeways in Los Angeles — and Mandeville Canyon.
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Skip next section LAPD chief reminds residents of curfew
5 hours ago5 hours ago
LAPD chief reminds residents of curfew
National Guard vehicles seen with a plume of smoke behind itNational Guard vehicles seen with a plume of smoke behind it
California National Guard line up along the Pacific Coast Highway on FridayImage: John Locher/AP/picture alliance
As evening set in, the Los Angeles Police Department chief Jim McDonnell said at a conference on Friday that the city was enforcing a dusk-to-dawn curfew for the Palisades and Eaton fire areas under mandatory evacuations.
A curfew order to be in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. was issued Thursday amid concerns of looting.
Only disaster workers can access the affected areas during curfew hours.
“If we see you in these areas, you will be subject to arrest,” McDonnell said. Violators face up to six months in prison or $1,000 fines, he added.
The California National Guard was also deployed to bolster law enforcement.
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Skip next section LA emergency management apologizes over false evacuation alerts
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LA emergency management apologizes over false evacuation alerts
Emergency managers in fire-ravaged Los Angeles have apologized for false evacuation alarms that caused panic in the city.
On Thursday and Friday, millions of mobile phones resounded with automated warnings calling on people to be ready to evacuate.
A correction issued 20 minutes after the alert said that the warning applied only to the new Kenneth Fire that was burning in the city’s north.
But a similar erroneous alert was again sent out in the early hours of Friday.
Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, said the automated errors had led to “frustration, anger (and) fear.”
“I can’t express enough how sorry I am,” he told the media.
McGowan added that he was looking into what went wrong with the alert system.
A burnt-out car at Topanga Beach during Palisades wildfire seen FridayA burnt-out car at Topanga Beach during Palisades wildfire seen Friday
The flames reached to the seaside neighborhood of Topanga Beach Image: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/picture alliance
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Skip next section LA fires costliest disaster in US history?
5 hours ago5 hours ago
LA fires costliest disaster in US history?
Arthur Sullivan
A neighborhood destroyed by the Palisades Fire is seen FridayA neighborhood destroyed by the Palisades Fire is seen Friday
The Pacific Palisades is one of LA’s most expensive areasImage: John Locher/AP/picture alliance
While government officials have not yet given a financial estimate of the devastation caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles, independent reports indicate it could be the costliest natural disaster ever in the United States.
The fires are consuming some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country, which are home to several Hollywood A-Listers and multimillion dollar villas.
Analysts from financial services firm JPMorgan have said that the losses from the wildfires would breach the tens of billions of dollars’ mark.
“Expectations of economic losses stemming from the fires have more than doubled since yesterday [January 9] to closer to $50 billion [€48.55 billion], and we estimate that insured losses from the event could exceed $20 billion (and even more if the fires are not controlled),” JPMorgan told its clients in a note on Friday.
Ratings agency Moody’s expects insured losses to “run in the billions of dollars given the high value of homes and businesses in the impacted areas.”
Read the full report here.
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Skip next section Firefighters from Mexico set to join LA effort
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Firefighters from Mexico set to join LA effort
Firefighters from Mexico were on their way to join over 10,000 personnel fighting the Eaton fire, one of the major wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles, California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement he posted on X.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had announced at a press briefing on Friday that she was sending a support team of firefighters and military personnel to Los Angeles to assist in the battle against the catastrophic blazes.
“California is deeply grateful for President Claudia Shein’s support as we work to suppress the Los Angeles wildfires,” Newsom said on Friday.
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Skip next section California governor calls for probe into LA water supply problems
6 hours ago6 hours ago
California governor calls for probe into LA water supply problems
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday asked for an independent investigation at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power over the loss of water pressure as firefighters battled multiple blazes.
In a letter to the head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Newsom called reports of loss of water pressure and lack of water supply at a crucial reservoir “deeply troubling.”
Newsom said that although water supplies to local hydrants were “not designed” to extinguish large wildfires, the loss of water supply to hydrants “likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors.”
A 117-million gallon reservoir that supplies Pacific Palisades — which is a part of LA’s water supply system — was out of commission when the infernos began in the area, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
Trump invited to California
Newsom also asked President-elect Donald Trump, who has blamed the governor for water shortages on social media, to “not politicize” the catastrophe and “spread disinformation from the sidelines.”
The democratic governor, with whom Trump has clashed in the past, invited the incoming president to California to “see the devastation first hand.”
California wildfires destroy thousands of homes
06:39
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Skip next section Death toll in wildfires increases to 11
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Death toll in wildfires increases to 11
A man looks for belongings in the remains of his home after burned down by wildfires A man looks for belongings in the remains of his home after burned down by wildfires
The fires burned through thickly settled neighborhoodsImage: Ringo Chiu/REUTERS
The death toll from the wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to at least 11, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported on Friday.
Five deaths have been linked to the Palisades fire, while six deaths have occurred from the Eaton Fire, according to records from the LA County medical examiner’s office.
With both fires still burning, authorities have been unable to give a complete estimate of the number of deaths.
The number is expected to increase as cadaver dogs search charred neighborhoods to assess the destruction.
The Eaton fire near Pasadena has burned more than 5,000 structures, including houses, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Firefighters managed to start to containing the fire on Thursday.
The Palisades blazes were burning in an area of 20,438 acres, according to Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.
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Skip next section Firefighters make some progress aided by calmer winds
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Firefighters make some progress aided by calmer winds
A firefighting plane drops red colored water over the Palisades Fire on FridayA firefighting plane drops red colored water over the Palisades Fire on Friday
Firefighters drop water over the Palisades Fire in Topanga CanyonImage: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/picture alliance
A pause in the fierce winds that have fueled wildfires in Los Angeles for several days has enabled firefighters to gain some control over two massive wildfires on the west and east flanks of the city.
The “Palisades Fire” and the “Eaton Fire” were 8% and 3% contained on Friday, respectively. The two fires are the largest of six separate blazes that started in the Los Angeles area, powered by gusts from the Santa Ana
winds.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley reported that there had been “favorable weather conditions overnight.”
Palisades and Eaton combined have burned through 35,000 acres (14,100 hectares), or 54 square miles, of land.
Pacific Palisades is a wealthy, residential, coastal district near Santa Monica in LA, home to more than 20,000 people.
On the front lines of California’s fires, evacuation efforts
05:42
In total, 13,000 structures are estimated to have been destroyed.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), wind conditions were to improve on Friday to nearly 20 mph with gusts between 35 mph to 50 mph, compared with powerful wind gusts upwards of 80 mph recorded days ago.
But forecasters warn strong gusts are set to return by Monday.
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dvv/wmr (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
