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California fires live: 16 deaths confirmed as flames threaten UCLA campus and worsening winds predicted | California wildfires

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A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far of the LA fires – that have already destroyed at least 12,000 structures – at between $135bn (£111bn) and $150bn (£123bn).

LA fires death toll rises to 16 as new evacuation orders are issued

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires that have destroyed 12,000 structures and killed 16 people.

Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton fire, the coroner’s office said on Saturday evening.

The Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, said the death toll is expected to rise as authorities deploy search dogs to devastated areas. The sheriff also said 13 people are reported missing.

County supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the LA area “had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak, and even more Angelenos evacuated due to the north-east expansion of the Palisades fire”.

The CalFire operations chief, Christian Litz, said the main focus on Saturday would be the Palisades fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus and the J Paul Getty Museum. Over the past 24 hours, the Palisades fire spread over an additional 1,000 acres (400 hectares), consuming more homes.

A fierce battle against the flames was under way in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill.

The National Weather Service warned of worsening Santa Ana winds that it predicted would pick up on Saturday night into Sunday morning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and again on late Monday through Tuesday morning, bringing sustained winds of up to 30mph and wind gusts up to 70mph.

The fire also was threatening to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.

Fire fighting aircraft drop water and refill to fight the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire. Photograph: Daniel A Anderson/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

In other developments:

  • In response to criticism over water supply issues, the LA Department of Public Works released a statement “correcting misinformation” about the lack of water to fight the Palisades fire this week. The statement was released one day after the chief of the LA fire department, Kristin Crowley, told Fox LA that her firefighters had been hamstrung when hydrants ran dry in certain parts of the Palisades on Wednesday morning.

  • Malibu has lost one-third of the eastern edge of the city, mayor Doug Stewart said yesterday evening. He said that Malibu, a community of about 10,000 people on the western edge of Los Angeles, has suffered three fires in three months, with the Palisades fire, which threatens to spread west of interstate 405, being the worst.

  • Firefighters deployed from Mexico arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. Canadian and Texan firefighters are also on their way to California.

  • California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has doubled the deployment of the state’s national guard to Los Angeles amid the wildfires.

  • Newsom has also launched a website aimed at addressing misinformation about the Los Angeles area wildfires. CaliforniaFireFacts.com, a branch of Newsom’s own website, includes information about water availability, forest land management and LA’s fire department budget.

  • The Southern California Edison CEO, Steven Powell, has told reporters there are now about 50,000 customers without power, “down from over half a million just a couple days ago”. Powell said there was no evidence that any of Edison’s equipment caused the Hurst fire but that the investigation was continuing.

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Article by:Source Yohannes Lowe

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