Residents in and around Los Angeles have experienced unimaginable terror and heartbreak over the past week.
Wildfires have ravaged multiple parts of LA and continue to tear across California, the most populous state in America, threatening areas including Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Montecito. More than 10,000 homes have been destroyed, with more than 150,000 forced to evacuate, while others devastatingly haven’t made it out alive.
As fears surrounding the flames continue, three wildfires ravage on. The largest, the Palisades, has burnt through more than 23,000 acres and is only 13 percent contained, while the Eaton fire has burnt through more than 14,000 acres and is 27 percent contained. The Hurst fire has burnt through 799 acres and has almost been fully contained.
Officials believe the fire was first ignited behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, located above a densely wooded arroyo in the star-studded Pacific Palisades community. This once-glamorous postcode has now been left in ruins, with a number of celebrity mansions reduced to ashes. Here, The Mirror looks at the horror that remains…
Human tragedies
On Sunday, the Los Angeles County medical examiner updated the death toll to 24, with a further 16 people currently missing. Sixteen of the people who died were found in the Eaton fire zone, while eight people were found in the Palisades area. Rory Sykes, a British-born former child star, who was blind and had cerebral palsy, is among those who tragically lost his life.
His mother, Shelley Sykes, was suffering a broken arm at the time of the incident and wasn’t able to evacuate her 6ft 5in son on her own. She said: “I couldn’t lift him. I couldn’t move him. He was my baby, and he died needlessly. Guess what didn’t work? 911. All the phone lines were down.” Rory, who appeared on Kiddy Kapers as a child, died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Toxic air
Beyond the imminent dangers of the flames, the thick clouds of smoke pose a threat to millions of residents in LA. As vast plumes of pollution spread in the air, children, the elderly and people with existing health conditions are becoming increasingly vulnerable to health problems, such as those with heart and lung disease.
The County of Los Angeles Public Health has issued a smoke advisory advising people to avoid exercising and stay indoors where possible, while pregnant, elderly and vulnerable people have been warned not to go outside at all.
Residents have been told to keep windows and doors shut; to only use air conditioning that doesn’t pull externally and to avoid using fireplaces, vacuums or candles.
It states that the small particles can cause burning eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, headaches and illnesses such as bronchitis with more severe effects such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing, fatigue, and/or chest pain in those with compromised immunity.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), fine particles from wildfire smoke are linked to premature death and can worsen diseases. Dr Puneet Gupta, the assistant medical director for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, has said wildfire smoke is known to cause heart attacks and worsen asthma. He said burning homes can also release cyanide and carbon dioxide.
Contaminated water
As well as the threat of flames and wildfire smoke, LA residents are at risk of contaminated drinking water. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power issued a stark warning on January 10 aimed at Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas that said: “Do not drink or cook with the tap water… Do not treat the tap water yourself.”
Wildfires can dangerously compromise local drinking waters. In 2017, high levels of benzene, a chemical linked with cancer, were found in the drinking water after large wildfires in Santa Rosa, and again in 2018 in Paradise. Andrew Whelton, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University, told NPR: “They will find contamination. The question is how high is it? Where is it? What parts of the communities will have to have restrictions…”
Cruel weather twist
The California Department of Foresty and Fire Protection has issued an urgent warning to residents of Southern California as life-threatening winds bring even further danger to those living throughout the county. On Sunday, a critical red flag warning was put in effect, that urged residents to be “ready to go” should conditions worsen.
In a post shared online, CAL Fire wrote: “Southern California is facing critical fire weather through Wednesday. Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity are forecast for much of Southern California – from Ventura to San Diego – creating a significant risk of rapid fire spread. The winds will cause increased fire activity.”
The National Weather Service for Los Angeles issued a “particularly dangerous situation” warning for three areas across Ventura and West Los Angeles County on Sunday too. In a cruel twist of fate for LA residents, the agency said it expects “critical fire weather” with winds that could be strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth.
Pasadena’s fire chief Chad Augustin said on the Today programme: “Once we get past Wednesday night I’m going to be saying, ‘Wooh, we made it and this fire is just about under control’ and then we’re going to spend the next couple of weeks just mopping up hotspots and embers – or this fire’s going to take off on Tuesday or Wednesday with these increased wind conditions.”
Residents stepping up
With officials tied up fighting the fires, some locals yet to evacuate have been forced to take policing into their own hands due to dangerous acts by their fellow residents. Californians living in the Woodland Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles stopped a homeless man carrying a “propane tank or a flamethrower” from adding to the chaos with a citizen’s arrest.
The Californians said they saw the man as he attempted to set fire to an object behind a vehicle and surrounded him before forcing him to the ground, where they tied him up with plastic zip ties. Speaking to Fox News on Friday, one local said the man appeared to have been “very focused on moving forward with the blow torch”.
They claimed the suspect said at the time: “I can’t stop. I can’t stop. I’m not putting this down. I’m doing this.” Renata Grinshpun, a local, said the neighbours “really banded together as a group” to prevent the man from starting another fire. Police were called to the neighbourhood after the locals completed their arrest, arriving at the 21700 block of Ybarra Road by around around 4.30pm.
Speaking to KTLA, Ms Grinshpun said he was surrounded “by a few gentlemen” who were well-equipped to restrain the man before officers arrived at the scene of the alleged attempted crime. She added: “A few gentlemen surrounded him and got him on his knees. They got some zip ties, a rope and we were able to do a citizens’ arrest.”