LA wildfires: Search for bodies under way as firefighters brace themselves for more winds

LOS ANGELES - Search teams with dogs fanned out looking for victims in Los Angeles on Jan 13, as firefighters girded for hurricane-force winds that could spark new blazes.

With the disaster in America’s second-biggest city in its seventh day,

24 people are known to have died

, with the toll expected to rise, and more than 90,000 people remain displaced.

But the first glimmers of normal life began to re-emerge.

Schools – closed since roaring winds spread flames through whole communities – reopened, while the beloved Los Angeles Lakers basketball team was set to play again.

But

with strong Santa Ana winds returning,

officials in Southern California were bracing themselves for new problems.

Forecasters say “extremely critical fire weather conditions” were developing in the region, and would last until Jan 15, with winds already gusting to 120kmh in parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

“Not only will these extreme and dangerous conditions make fighting ongoing fires much more difficult, but these will make new ignitions much more likely,” the National Weather Service said.

More than 8,500 firefighters attacked the fires from the air and on the ground, preventing conflagrations at either end of Los Angeles from spreading overnight on Jan 13.

“This set-up is about as bad as it gets,” Los Angeles City fire chief Kristin Crowley told local residents. “We are not in the clear.”

The state authorities were pre-positioning firefighting crews in Los Angeles and other Southern California counties that were under elevated fire danger, officials said.

The renewed danger was doing little to soothe frayed nerves, with parents struggling to make sense of the disaster for their children.

Ms Zahrah Mihms, whose Altadena neighbourhood was levelled, said she hoped to minimise the trauma for four-year-old Ethan.

“I’m trying to take this moment out of his mind, and just be like, ‘It’s all good. Our house got a little owie, we are gonna fix it. It’s gonna be fine’,” she said, still wearing the slippers in which she fled last week’s blaze.

There was some good news for young people as hundreds of thousands of children went back to classrooms – though damaged schools and those in evacuation zones remained closed.

Nine people have been charged in connection with looting

in no-go areas, Los Angeles County’s chief prosecutor said.

The charges include those for one burglary that netted US$200,000 (S$274,000), and one in which an Emmy statuette was stolen, said District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

Meanwhile, teams with cadaver dogs were going plot to plot in ruined areas searching for victims.

“It is a very grim task, and we unfortunately, every day we’re doing this, we’re running across the remains of individual community members,” County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

“That is not easy work,” he said, adding: “I believe we’ll continue to find remains.”

The Palisades fire has consumed almost 9,700ha and was 14 per cent contained, with limited fire activity at its boundaries.

The Eaton fire stood at 5,666ha and one third containment.

More than 12,000 structures lie in ruins, a figure that includes homes, outbuildings and some vehicles.

US President Joe Biden said it will “cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back where it was”.

“We’re going to need Congress to step up to provide the funding to get this done,” the outgoing president said, in a briefing with emergency officials.

Fresh resources

A huge firefighting effort was concentrating on mopping up hot spots, with Ms Crowley telling reporters strike teams were ready for the wind, which was expected to worsen on Jan 14 and 15.

Operations were bolstered by teams from across the western United States and from neighbouring countries.

Mexican firefighter Benigno Hernandez Cerino said he and his countrymen were honoured to help. “Our mission is to support our brothers and sisters in Los Angeles, and to do the best possible job to help them prevent fires,” he told AFP.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, who along with President-elect Donald Trump has sharply criticised the authorities’ handling of the fires, sent several Cybertrucks with Starlink satellite internet terminals to assist.

Hollywood responds

The body that awards the Oscars said it was cancelling its ritzy nominees’ luncheon, as Hollywood tries to navigate the sombre mood at a time it would usually be celebrating award season.

It also moved its Academy Awards nomination announcement online.

Major studios and streamers including Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Warner and Universal parent company Comcast have all announced eight-figure donations.

A dozen city sports clubs, among them the Lakers, and the Dodgers baseball team, have pledged US$8 million towards wildfire relief.

Meanwhile, fire investigation experts combed the wreckage looking for clues to what caused the blazes, with residents desperate for answers and social media overflowing with unsubstantiated videos showing everything from hikers to power lines seemingly at fault.

While wildfires can be deliberately ignited, they are often natural and a vital part of an environment’s life cycle.

But urban sprawl puts people more frequently in harm’s way, and the changing climate – supercharged by humanity’s unchecked use of fossil fuels – is exacerbating the conditions that give rise to destructive blazes. AFP, REUTERS