The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection listed five major active wildfires spread around the Los Angeles area as of Wednesday night.
- The Palisades Fire began in the Pacific Palisades area of the city on Tuesday. It has so far burned 17,234 acres and is at 0% containment. More than 1,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed.
- The Eaton Fire north of Pasedna began on Tuesday. It expanded to 10,600 acres and is at 0% containment. Up to 500 structures have been damaged or destroyed.
- The Hurst Fire in Sylmar, northwest of San Fernando, began on Tuesday and has burned 855 acres. It is at 10% containment.
- The Lidia Fire erupted on Wednesday on the northwest edge of the Angeles National Forest. It has grown to 348 acres and is at 40% containment.
- The Sunset Fire broke out above West Hollywood on Wednesday. It is at 43 acres and 0% containment.
I wonder if the Democrats will finally be inclined to consider redirecting some of that massive Federal aid money being shoveled into Ukraine toward disaster areas in the USA now that the second capitol of their party is being literally burned to the ground. They certainly didn’t seem very inclined to help the people in Tennessee.
But LA residents have nothing to fear from the flames. Chief Crowley’s on the job! Talk about a portentous name…
UPDATE: In April 2024, State Farm—one of the biggest private insurers in the state—announced that it had canceled a total of 72,000 policies in California, 30,000 of which were homes. Many of those affected lived in high-risk, upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, the area now affected by the Palisades fire. The move was justified by State Farm as an attempt to reduce the company’s overall exposure after two years of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018, and huge losses for the insurance industry in California. In Pacific Palisades, about 1,600 insured homes lost coverage following State Farm’s decision, as reported by ABC 7.