Is the Los Angeles fire still burning? Why is there so much damage?

More than a week after the Los Angeles wildfires broke out, the fire has become the most destructive in California county history and has a good chance of becoming one of the deadliest fires the state has ever seen.

According to the local government, the fire has so far destroyed at least 12,300 buildings and killed 24 people.

Local officials are preparing for more strong winds, which are expected to continue until Wednesday.

Are fires still burning in Los Angeles?

As of Tuesday morning, three of the six major fires in Los Angeles County were still raging. They are:

• Palisades fire – burned 9,596 hectares, 14% under control.
• Eaton Fire – burned 5,713 hectares of area, 33% under control.
• Hearst Fire – burned 323 hectares, 97% controlled.

The Kenneth, Lydia and Sunset fires are now 100% under control.

How big is the Los Angeles fire?

The Los Angeles fires have burned 16,425 hectares of land so far. That’s about the size of Washington, D.C., about half the size of Philadelphia, one-eighth the size of Los Angeles, or about 30,000 football fields.

California typically experiences thousands of wildfires each year. These include fires that burn small bushes, as well as large destructive fires that burn tens of thousands of hectares of land.

In 2020, California experienced the largest wildfire in history. The August comprehensive fire, caused by lightning strikes, burned more than 400,000 hectares of land in several counties. The fire, fueled by drought and extreme heat, was not fully contained until late October of that year.

The following year, the Dixie Fire burned at least 380,000 hectares and destroyed 1,300 buildings, including most of the town of Greenville in Plumers County.

Although both fires covered an area comparable to the US state of Rhode Island, the fires killed only two people, largely due to early evacuation orders issued by authorities in sparsely populated areas.

California’s most destructive wildfires

As of January 14, the Palisades and Eaton wildfires were the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County history, destroying more than 10,000 buildings. Only once in California has there been a fire in 2018 that exceeded the scale of destruction caused by these two wildfires.

These wildfires occur in California’s densely populated Los Angeles County, unlike many fires that occur in sparsely populated areas.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire, the Palisades wildfire engulfed the affluent Pacific Palisades community between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, destroying at least 5,300 homes and forcing the evacuation of more than 100,000 residents.

About 40 kilometers to the east, the Eaton wildfire also swept through much of the Altadina area, destroying more than 5,000 buildings.

AccuWeather estimates that the total damage and economic damage caused by these fires could be between $135 billion and $150 billion.

California’s deadliest wildfires

In 2018, California’s deadliest and most devastating fires killed a total of 85 people. The Kemp Fire broke out near the town of Paradise in Boot County and was caused by a faulty power line. The fire engulfed an area of 62,000 hectares, destroyed almost the entire town, and burned more than 18,000 buildings.

The fire broke out in the early hours of the morning, when many residents were still sleeping, and the fire quickly engulfed the town, leaving people with little time to react and evacuate.

The second deadliest fire in California history was the Griffith Park Fire in Los Angeles on October 3, 1933. The fire killed 29 people, most of them workers clearing bushes in the park.

Of the 24 fire deaths currently recorded, 16 died in the Eaton Fire in the eastern foothills of Los Angeles, and the remaining eight died in the Palisades Fire on the west side of the town, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.