Name: Race to contain LA wildfires ahead of strong winds
Uploaded: 2025-01-12T07:00:02.371Z
Duration: 2 min 31 s
Description: Firefighters are racing to cut off spreading wildfires around Los Angeles before potentially strong winds return next week. It comes as new evacuation warnings leave more residents on edge.

Firefighters are racing to cut off spreading wildfires around Los Angeles before potentially strong winds return next week. It comes as new evacuation warnings leave more residents on edge.

Pacific Palisades

More than a thousand structures have been destroyed and lives lost as wildfires sweep across parts of Los Angeles.

LA Wildfires

Firefighters are actively working to control ongoing wildfires in and around Los Angeles. These efforts are crucial as forecasts predict the possibility of strong winds returning, which could exacerbate the situation. The Palisades fire is a significant focus, having consumed over nine hectares, and continues to threaten nearby residential areas. 

In response to these challenges, a coordinated firefighting effort is underway involving approximately 3,500 personnel. Aerial operations are a key strategy, with scout planes identifying critical spots for tanker planes to drop fire retardants. However, operational pauses for refueling can hinder momentum. 

The fires have already approached densely populated areas such as Brentwood and the San Fernando Valley, endangering millions of residents. Iconic sites like the Getty Center and areas traditionally vibrant with life, such as the Santa Monica Pier, are also at risk. As these fires burn visibly from landmarks like Hollywood, there is uncertainty about when control efforts will conclude.



Race to contain LA wildfires ahead of strong winds

Here's what the battle to save Los Angeles looks like. This one is being fought from the air, but only while weather conditions allow. And there's the problem. With these winds set to pick up a lot over the coming days, forecasters are warning that this could be about to get a lot worse here. The Palisades fire has already claimed more than nine hectares and more houses lay in its path. The flames approach menacingly, almost taunting homeowners as they wonder if this is it. They've watched this dozens of times this week on TV, how different it must feel when it's your home. The Pacific Palisades was idyllic, upmarket and buzzing with life this time last week. From the air, it now looks like a bombsite. What you get from this perspective way up high is a sense of just how much danger still lies ahead, because the Palisades fire has been moving towards densely populated areas like Brentwood, like the San Fernando Valley, which has millions of people living in it. Three and a half thousand firefighters are battling the Palisades fire alone. It is strategic, coordinated. Two planes fly together. A scout identifies where the drop needs to be done and sends out a signal to a tanker, which dumps the retardant powder right on the spot. The pause to refuel means critical minutes lost, though. But what else can they do? Machines have their limits, unlike Mother Nature. I've never seen a situation where helicopters were lined up to drop water. There was a traffic jam on the 405 of helicopters. Marcel says this is the most extreme fire he has ever seen, and he's seen a lot. He fought them here for 23 years. Firefighting is the most craziest game of chess you've ever seen, right? Just when you think you have it blocked off, Mother Nature changes everything on you, and you have to basically pivot and adjust your tactics. The flames are also threatening iconic landmarks like the Getty Center, not to mention the thousands of homes around it. The Santa Monica Pier, a place usually filled with fun and laughter, now against a backdrop of sadness and ruin. Hollywood can see the smoke from the Palisades fire and from the Eaton fire behind it. But that is still burning, too. In a place that has made so many disaster movies, this disaster is happening right here in real time. But nobody knows when this one will be over. Phil Lavelle, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles.

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LA Wildfires