Los Angeles wildfires: Families in shock begin to visit their charred homes in Los Angeles area
Many watched their homes burn on television in a state of shock.
Since the flames erupted in and around Los Angeles, scores of residents have returned to their still smoldering neighborhoods even as the threat of new fires persisted and the nation's second-largest city remained unsettled. For some, it was a first look at the staggering reality of what was lost as the region of 13 million people grapples with the gargantuan challenge of overcoming the disaster and rebuilding.
What to know:
- The Kenneth and Eaton fires have resulted in over 12,000 structures being destroyed in Los Angeles.
- At least 11 people have died, prompting urgent evacuation orders across the affected areas.
- Gov. Gavin 온라인 바카라 게임om invited President-elect Donald Trump to tour the wildfire damage in Southern California.
- Climate change and dry winds are exacerbating the wildfire season, leading to unprecedented destruction.
Calmer winds enabled firefighters to start gaining some control of the biggest blazes in metropolitan LA on Friday before gusty weather returns over the weekend to an area that hasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t seen rain in more than eight months.
Bridget Berg, who was at work when she saw on TV her house in Altadena erupt in flames, came back for the first time with her family two days later 바카라 게임 웹사이트just to make it real.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Their feet crunched across the broken bits of what had been their home for 16 years.
Her kids sifted through debris on the sidewalk, finding a clay pot and a few keepsakes as they searched for Japanese wood prints they hoped to recover. Her husband pulled his hand out of rubble near the still-standing fireplace, holding up a piece of petrified wood handed down by his grandmother.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s OK. It바카라 게임 웹사이트s OK,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Berg said as much to herself as others as she took stock of the destruction, remembering the deck and pool from which her family watched fireworks. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s not like we just lost our house 바카라 게임 웹사이트 everybody lost their house.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Since the fires first began popping up around a densely populated, 25-mile expanse north of downtown LA, they have burned more than 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. No cause has been identified yet for the largest fires.
Allegations of leadership failures and political blame have begun and so have investigations. Gov. Gavin 온라인 바카라 게임om on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon reservoir was out of service and some hydrants ran dry, calling it 바카라 게임 웹사이트deeply troubling.바카라 게임 웹사이트 Meanwhile, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said city leadership failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting. She also criticized the lack of water.
바카라 게임 웹사이트When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there바카라 게임 웹사이트s going to be water,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said.
Video above: Biden on California wildfires
At least 11 people have been killed, with five from the Palisades Fire and six from the Eaton Fire, according to the LA County medical examiner's office. Officials said they expected that number to rise as cadaver dogs go through leveled neighborhoods to assess the devastation to an area larger than San Francisco.
Officials on Friday set up a center where people could report those missing. Tens of thousands of people remained under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 56 square miles (145 square kilometers).
The disaster took homes from everyone 바카라 게임 웹사이트 from waiters to movie stars. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage, but private firms have estimated it will climb into the tens of billions. The Walt Disney Co. announced Friday it will donate $15 million to respond to the fires and help rebuild.
The flames hit schools, churches, a synagogue, libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and local landmarks like the Will Rogers바카라 게임 웹사이트 Western Ranch House and a Queen Anne-style mansion in Altadena that dated back to 1887 and was commissioned for wealthy mapmaker Andrew McNally.
Video above: 온라인 바카라 게임om invites Trump to tour fire damage in Southern California
Neighbors wandered around ruins Friday as they described now-vanished bedrooms, recently remodeled kitchens and outdoor living spaces. Some talked about the gorgeous views that drew them to their properties, their words contrasting sharply with the scene of soot and ash.
In the coastal community of Pacific Palisades, Greg Benton surveyed where he lived for 31 years, hoping to find his great-grandmother바카라 게임 웹사이트s wedding ring in the wreckage.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We just had just had Christmas morning right over here, right in front of that chimney. And this is what바카라 게임 웹사이트s left,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said, pointing to the blackened rubble that was once his living room. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s those small family heirlooms that are the ones that really hurt the most.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Elsewhere in the city, people at collection sites picked through cardboard boxes of donated items to restart their lives.
Firefighters made progress for the first time since Tuesday containing the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures. Officials said Friday most evacuation orders for the area were lifted.
LA Mayor Karen Bass, who faces a critical test of her leadership as her city endures its greatest crisis in decades, said several smaller fires also were stopped.
Crews were also gaining ground on the Palisades Fire, which burned 5,300 structures and is the most destructive in LA's history.
California National Guard troops arrived on the streets of Altadena before dawn to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone, and evening curfews were in effect to prevent looting after several earlier arrests.
The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that regularly confronts massive wildfires.
Anna Yeager said she and her husband agonized over going back to their beloved Altadena neighborhood near Pasadena after fleeing with their 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, their two dogs and some clothes. A neighbor told them their house was gone.
Now she regrets not grabbing her children바카라 게임 웹사이트s artwork, her husband바카라 게임 웹사이트s treasured cookbooks, family photos, and jewelry from her mom, who died in 2012, and her husband바카라 게임 웹사이트s grandmother, who survived Auschwitz.
When the couple returned, they saw blocks of only 바카라 게임 웹사이트chimney after chimney."
"Power lines everywhere. Fires still going everywhere바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said, adding that when they walked up to their home 바카라 게임 웹사이트it was just dust.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Charred grapefruits littered their yard around a blackened tree, a few still hanging from its branches.
Yeager바카라 게임 웹사이트s neighborhood of Tudor homes was planning to celebrate its 100th anniversary in May.
바카라 게임 웹사이트You build a world for yourself and your family, and you feel safe in that world and things like this happen that you cannot control,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s devastating."
There were remnants of the front porch where Yeager had photographed her children nearly daily since 2020 and had planned to keep doing that until they reached high school. That gave her hope.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The porch is still there and it바카라 게임 웹사이트s to me, it바카라 게임 웹사이트s a sign to rebuild and not leave,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트You know, it바카라 게임 웹사이트s like saying, 바카라 게임 웹사이트Hey, I바카라 게임 웹사이트m still here. You can still do this.바카라 게임 웹사이트바카라 게임 웹사이트
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, Watson from San Diego, and Hollingsworth from Mission, Kansas. Associated Press journalists Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles, and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco, contributed.