Introduction
180,000 people were evacuated, 10,000 structures were damaged, 11 individuals were killed, and $150 billion worth of damage was caused.
The extent of the catastrophic
wildfires that have swept Los Angeles County since Tuesday is depicted in these key data.
Five fires are still burning.
Five major fires are tearing through Los Angeles.
86 square kilometers (33 square miles) have been burned by the largest, the Palisades Fire, which is located northwest of the second-most populated city in the country.
The affluent Pacific Palisades district,
which is home to celebrities and multimillionaires, has been devastated.
The second is the Eaton Fire in Altadena, a Los Angeles suburb in the east, which covers 56 square kilometers (22 square miles). Both flames have been confined to an extent of 8% and 3%, respectively.
The Kenneth Fire (four square kilometers),
Hurst Fire (three square kilometers), and Lidia Fire (1.6 square kilometers) are three significantly smaller fires that have been partially contained, by fifty, seventy, and ninety-eight percent, respectively.
150 square kilometers
Over 37,000 acres—15,000 hectares, or 150 square kilometers—have been torn apart by the fires.
The current fires are less than past
disasters that have swept through California in recent years, often spanning thousands of square kilometers.
However, because they are found
in residential areas, they are more destructive and lethal.
Eleven people are dead.
According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s statement on Thursday, at least 11 individuals have perished so far.
Firefighters said at least five people
perished in the Eaton Fire and at least two perished in the Palisades Fire.
According to government records, if one of the fires kills six people, it will rank among the 20 deadliest in California history.
Ten thousand buildings were demolished.
According to Los Angeles County firefighters, at least 10,000 homes and other buildings have already caught fire, including at least 5,000 in the Palisades Fire and between 4,000 and 5,000 in the Eaton Fire.
The two flames have already caused the biggest damage in Los Angeles County’s history.
In contrast, the Tubbs Fire destroyed 5,600 buildings north of San Francisco in October 2017 and the Camp Fire devastated about 19,000 buildings north of Sacramento in November 2018.
180,000 people were evacuated.
Approximately 180,000 residents have received
orders to vacate their communities. While some homeowners stayed behind in an attempt to save their properties, authorities have been urging locals to follow the evacuation instructions.
Originally under threat from the Sunset Fire, the renowned Hollywood district was also evacuated, but the order was revoked Thursday morning once the fire in its hills was contained.
Twenty arrests
Another threat to the fire-affected neighborhoods is looting. Since the initial fires started Tuesday, at least 20 people have been arrested by police in the Los Angeles area for stealing.
The National Guard has been sent in to guard the impacted areas, and a curfew has been declared for the evening.
Damage of $150 billion
The fires may turn out to be the most expensive on record since they destroyed opulent homes. AccuWeather, a private meteorological company, has put the damage’s estimate between $135 and $150 billion. And that might increase.
