Los Angelos fires expand as winds forecast to pick up 2025

The largest of Los Angeles’ fires spread to previously unaffected neighborhoods on Saturday, forcing new evacuations and diminishing hopes that the disaster is under control.

Across the city, at least 11 people have died as multiple fires have ravaged residential areas since Tuesday, razing thousands of homes in destruction that U.S. President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.”

Despite enormous firefighting efforts, the expanding Palisades fire has prompted evacuation orders for upscale neighborhoods on its eastern flank, including the famed Getty Center art museum. .

Winds are expected to pick up again Saturday after a brief lull, posing a risk of new fires as embers are blown into dry brush.

Los Angeles residents are increasingly demanding to know who is responsible for the disaster as they grapple with the ruins and local anger mounts over authorities’ preparation and response.

Residents like Nicole Perri, whose home in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood burned, told AFP that authorities “completely failed us.”

“I don’t think the officials were prepared at all,” said James Brown, a 65-year-old retired attorney from the city of Altadena.

California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a “comprehensive independent review” Friday, calling the lack of water supplies during the early fires “deeply troubling.”

“We need answers about how this happened,” he wrote in an open letter.

As reports of looting increased, a sunset to sunrise curfew was imposed in evacuated areas.

Around 20 arrests have already taken place in Los Angeles, where some residents have organized street patrols and policed ​​their own homes with weapons.

The National Guard was deployed to reinforce law enforcement.

12,000 buildings disappeared

Five separate fires have so far burned more than 37,000 acres (15,000 hectares), destroying about 12,000 buildings, the California Fire Agency reported.

The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed one additional death Friday, bringing the total death toll to 11, although that number is expected to rise.

“It reminded me more of a war scene, where some targets were being bombed,” Biden said during a White House briefing.

The winds had calmed on Friday, providing a window of opportunity for firefighters who are battling blazes 24 hours a day for a fourth consecutive day.

“Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal that his Malibu home burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating.”

Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Billy Crystal were among a long list of celebrities who lost their homes, while Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who left royal life in 2020 and moved to California, were seen comforting the survivors.

The Palisades Fire was only eight percent contained as of Saturday morning and spread eastward after burning 21,600 acres.

Emergency chiefs warned the situation remained extremely dangerous.

Winds “are going to increase further in the coming days,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Authorities said it was too early to know the cause of the fires.

Blame game

On Friday, Biden took a veiled jab at new President Donald Trump, who spread misinformation about the fires that was then amplified on social media.

“There will be a lot of demagogues who will try to take advantage of this,” the president said.

Newsom, who was blamed for the disaster by the president-elect, invited Trump to visit Los Angeles and observe the damage with him.

“We must not politicize human tragedy or spread misinformation from the sidelines,” Newsom said.

Los Angeles fire Chief Kristin Crowley highlighted the department’s recent funding cuts, saying her department is chronically under-resourced and understaffed.

Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns and altering fire dynamics.

Emergency officials apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts were mistakenly sent to millions of cellphones, causing panic.

© 2025 AFP