As the battle against the deadly fires in Los Angeles county enters its 10th day, officials are warning evacuees against returning to their homes due to the presence of toxic, hazardous waste and exposed power and gas lines.
During a Thursday press conference, Yonah Halpern, principal engineer with LA county public works said that toxins such as asbestos, and mercury can be found in fire debris and that the US Environmental Protection Agency and county fire department will be going house-to-house to assess and remove hazardous materials at no cost to the property’s owner.
The extreme winds behind the disastrous fires in Los Angeles are forecast to calm the rest of the week into the weekend, making it easier for firefighters to further efforts to put out the massive Palisades and Eaton fires that have been ablaze for over a week.
The National Weather Service said on Thursday that the “nine-day wind siege has finally ended” and the weekend will bring a “significant cooling trend” with higher humidity in the region. But it warned that high winds could pick up again early next week.
A marine layer is forecasted to come into the area on Thursday and Friday bringing with it desperately needed humidity, said James White, the incident meteorologist for the Eaton fire, during a Thursday press conference.
As of Thursday morning, crews were still working to fully contain the two largest fires in Los Angeles. The Palisades fire is 22% contained after burning more than 23,700 acres while the Eaton fire is 55% contained after burning roughly 14,100 acres.
The containment numbers are expected to rise rapidly in the coming days. The flames are no longer raging but scores of firefighters must scour every inch of the expansive fire footprints to ensure spot fires are extinguished and lines hold.
Even after forecasts warned of a “particularly dangerous situation” wind event on Wednesday, firefighters have been able to keep the fires within their footprints over the last few days.
Both fires have proved to be deadly and destructive. Officials said at least 27 people have died from the fires, while a total of 12,000 structures have been destroyed. The tragic toll is expected to climb. Natural disasters of this scale can indirectly cause deaths for decades to come.
While officials are still combing through the wreckage to tally and assess the destruction left in the wake of these fires, estimates put the total cost of the fire’s damage at around $250bn, making it the costliest fire in US history.