Los Angeles in Extreme Danger as More Winds Trigger New Wildfires, Death Toll Stands at 25

Los Angeles: It has been a week since Los Angeles has been burning as wildfires rage on, destroying thousands of structures including public and private places and also claiming lives of several people. Very strong and powerful winds have been predicted, putting the already fire-stricken area into further danger as the winds may trigger new wildfires.

Los Angeles in Extreme Danger as More Winds Trigger New Wildfires

More powerful winds were expected to trigger new wildfires that could set back the recent progress made in containing blazes in the Los Angeles area. Much of Los Angeles area to remain under an extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday A large portion of southwest California spanning eight counties around Los Angeles is under a red flag warning for extreme fire danger through Wednesday.

Certain areas of LA and Ventura counties, including valleys, foothills and mountains throughout the Santa Monica and Santa Susana ranges, were in what the National Weather Service calls a "particularly dangerous situation". National Weather Service predicts return of hurricane-force winds that could quickly spread wildfires Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city is preparing to deal with another round of extreme wind.

‘Be Ready to Evacuate’: Weather Service Warns Residents

The Palisades and Eaton fires are burning on the southern side of that area, and hurricane-force winds are forecast to return on Tuesday. The weather service urges residents to "stay aware of your surroundings. Be ready to evacuate. Avoid anything that can spark a fire".

Interactive maps show locations of damaged homes LA County Recovers, a government-run programme, posted interactive maps on its website that show homes and other structures that have been damaged. The maps for the Eaton and Palisades fires allow users to click on an icon and get a description of the type of structure, such as a home or commercial building, and the type of damage, such as "major" or "destroyed".

Addresses may be entered into a search bar to find a specific location. Users can also see photos of the damaged buildings.

LA Wildfires: Death Toll Stands at 25, Evacuation Underway

Authorities haven't determined an official cause for either fire. Wildfires that began last Tuesday amid hurricane-force winds have killed at least 25 people across the Los Angeles area as of Monday.

The number of people under evacuation orders in Los Angeles County has dropped to under 1,00,000 but officials cautioned that more evacuations could be ordered when high winds return this week.

Additional fires are possible and the wind could spread the ongoing fires, so authorities urged residents to be prepared to evacuate if needed and make a plan for their families. Also, even after an evacuation order is lifted it still might not be safe to return home because of damaged gas and electric lines and other hazards.

Officials confident they'll be ready to deal with return of strong winds "We're absolutely better prepared for this coming," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said when asked what will be different this time with similarly strong winds forecast as last week which fuelled the massive fires.

More than 5,000 firefighters are battling the Palisades fire and more than 3,000 are working on the Eaton fire. The state has also set up a mobilisation area where resources are staged to be ready to respond to any new fires.

Marrone said he also has more firefighting aircraft on hand to help, but they could be grounded if the winds get too strong. When that happened last week, the fires spread quickly. Marrone said he can't be confident they'll be able to contain every new fire, so it's important that residents are ready to evacuate if they're ordered to leave their homes.

(Inputs from AP)