APPLENEWS - STORY ADD
California fires live updates: LA mayor's office denies report fire chief was dismissed
Thousands of firefighters are battling the sprawling wildfires across LA.
Nearly a dozen people are believed to be dead -- with the Los Angeles County sheriff saying he expects that number to rise -- as devastating fires spread across Southern California amid dry and windy conditions, leaving officials scrambling to contain the historic destruction.
Thousands of firefighters are battling at least five sprawling wildfires spread around the LA area. The largest, the Palisades Fire, in Pacific Palisades, has scorched over 21,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and is 8% contained. The Eaton Fire, in Altadena, now stands at more than 13,000 acres and is 3% contained. More than 100,000 people are under evacuation orders.
David Muir anchors a special edition of "20/20" with continuing coverage of the deadly California fires. “American Catastrophe: LA Burning - A Special Edition of 20/20” starts tonight at 9/8c on ABC.
Key Headlines
- New evacuation order issued for Palisades Fire
- LA Clippers game postponed due to wildfires
- LA County investigating why millions of residents got erroneous evacuation order
- LA mayor's office denies report fire chief was dismissed
- Flare-up of Palisades Fire in Santa Monica mountains brings intense flames
- Firefighter finds woman's wedding ring in rubble
- 11 fire-related deaths reported to medical examiner
- Newsom calls for independent investigation into water supply
- 18 arrests so far in Eaton, Palisades fires
- More than 100,000 residents under evacuation orders
Eaton Fire now at nearly 14,000 acres, with thousands of structures damaged, destroyed
The Eaton Fire is now at 13,956 acres with 3% containment. The fire is believed to have damaged or destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
There are currently 5,527 firefighters responding to the fire.
The fire did make a push toward Mount Wilson Observatory on Thursday, but the building did not suffer any damage. One firefighter was injured due to a fall while responding to the fire, but the firefighter is currently recovering.
The region is in a "much better posture" than it was earlier this week, Marrone said at a press conference Friday.
The red flag warning will continue until Friday at 6 p.m. PST, but firefighters will be preparing for the next red flag event expected to begin on Monday, Marrone said.
Palisades Fire scorches over 20,000 acres, 8% contained
The Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades has now scorched over 20,000 acres -- larger than all of Manhattan, which is 14,600 acres.
Thanks to favorable wind conditions overnight, the Palisades Fire is 8% contained, LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a news conference early Friday.
Wind gusts are expected to increase Friday morning; firefighters are prepared, Crowley said.
The Palisades and Eaton fires have become the No. 1 and No. 2 most destructive fires in Southern California history in terms of structures burned.
Despite 'frustration' from erroneous alerts, public shouldn't disable phone messages: Official
Multiple erroneous evacuation emergency alerts have been sent to Los Angeles County residents' cellphones, sparking an "extreme amount of frustration, anger [and] fear," LA County Office of Emergency Management Director Kevin McGowan said.
The cause is under investigation and McGowan stressed at a news conference that the alerts were not "human driven."
Even though the erroneous messages are "painful" and "scary," he implored the public to not disable their phone's emergency alerts.
"These alert tools have saved lives during this emergency," he said.
People applying for FEMA individual, public assistance programs can use that assistance for hotels
People applying for individual and public assistance programs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency can use that assistance for hotels and other lodging expenses, according to former FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor.
During large scale wildfires, FEMA uses Fire Management Assistance Grants, which can be deployed almost immediately and do not require any declaration by the current administrator or president, Gaynor told ABC News. And when President Joe Biden signed an emergency declaration this week, it unlocked a host of resources people can apply to if they were impacted by the fires, Gaynor said.
"Things like temporary housing repair, replacement of homes, temporary housing units, unemployment insurance," he said. "There's an ability to give quick cash to people to make sure that if they need something right away, they can get cash."
-ABC News’ Luke Barr