The China Mail - LA fires threaten more homes as winds forecast to pick up

At least 11 people have died as multiple fires ripped through residential areas, razing whole communities in destruction US President Joe Biden has likened to a "war scene."

Despite huge firefighting efforts, the Palisades fire prompted new evacuation orders in ritzy areas along its eastern flank -- which include the Getty Center art museum and its priceless collections -- as the northern flank edged toward the densely populated San Fernando Valley.

"We're a nervous wreck," Sarah Cohen told the Los Angeles Times of the threat to her Tarzana home.

"Every time they drop water, it gets better. But then it gets worse again."

Aerial footage from the Mandeville Canyon area showed houses burning, with a wall of flame licking up a hillside.

Winds were picking up again after a brief lull, and were expected to persist well into next week.

"These winds, combined with dry air and dry vegetation, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County high," said Los Angeles County fire chief Anthony Marrone.

- Row -

The Palisades fire was 11 percent contained Saturday and spreading east after burning 22,600 acres (9,100 hectares).

The Eaton Fire was at 14,000 acres and 15 percent contained.

Los Angeles residents have increasingly demanded to know who is at fault for the disaster. Local anger is rising over officials' preparedness and response.

"I don't think the officials were prepared at all," said James Brown, a 65-year-old retired lawyer across the city in Altadena.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered a "full independent review," describing lack of water supplies during the initial fires as "deeply troubling."

Meanwhile city officials put on a united front Saturday following reports of a furious row and suggestions that Mayor Karen Bass had sacked her fire chief.

"As you see here, the chief and I are lockstep in our number one mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency," Bass told reporters.

The at-times tense press conference came after Chief Kristin Crowley complained her fire department was short of cash.

"My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded," Crowley told Fox television's local network. "It's not."

- Body search -

With reports of looting, a sunset-to-sunrise curfew has been imposed in evacuated areas, with around two dozen arrests already made.

Sheriff Robert Luna said people breaking curfews were being dealt with harshly.

"You go out there and you violate this curfew, you are going to spend time in jail," he said.

At least 11 people are known to have died in the chaotic infernos, with 13 reported missing, but the toll is widely expected to rise.

One victim was a man who had stayed behind to protect his home and was found in the driveway with a garden hose in his hand.

Teams with cadaver dogs were set to start combing the rubble Saturday in the grim search for victims.

Five separate fires have destroyed around 12,000 structures, California's fire agency reported.

But Todd Hopkins, who is overseeing the Palisades Fire fight, said not all of those buildings were homes.

"Structures can be homes, outbuildings, RVs, automobiles or other types of things like sheds," he said, adding the confirmed total of homes destroyed in the biggest fire was 426.

"Braveheart" actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was "devastating."

Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Billy Crystal were among a long list of celebrities who lost houses.

- Investigation -

A huge investigation was under way to determine what caused the blazes, involving the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with local authorities, sheriff Luna said.

"We are not going to leave any rock unturned if this is a criminal act -- I'm not saying it's going to be -- if it is, we need to hold whoever did this, or groups responsible," he said.

"If anybody out there has any information on anything suspicious, maybe there's a conversation, maybe there's a social media post, something that you think just doesn't sound right, get it to us."

While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are frequently natural, and are in fact a vital part of the environment's life cycle.

A.Sun--ThChM