No letup in LA fires as damage toll soars

Wildfires continued to burn uncontained across Los Angeles County on Thursday — from the Pacific Ocean eastward to Pasadena — as the number of people displaced by the inferno has risen to at least 130,000.

More than 9,000 homes and structures were lost in the Palisades and Eaton fires, the Los Angeles Times reported, with more fire-conducive weather ahead

"The Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles," said Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.

Five people have died, but officials say the death toll is likely to be higher.

"This has the potential to be, at least collectively, the costliest wildfire disaster in American history," UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a livestream Wednesday. "Even just the Palisades fire on its own may become so."

The winds calmed somewhat on Thursday, but the National Weather Service warned that the wind is expected to strengthen in the evening.

The Palisades fire, near the Pacific Ocean coastline, has burned about 26.9 square miles (69.8 square kilometers). The Eaton fire, north of Pasadena, has burned about 16.6 square miles. The Hurst fire, in the San Fernando Valley, has burned 1.3 square miles. The Sunset fire in the Hollywood Hills has burned less than a square mile.

More than 420,000 customers statewide were without power as of 4:40 pm Pacific time Thursday, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

Tragic stories began to emerge on Thursday.

Victor Shaw was found dead holding a garden hose after the Eaton Fire swept through his neighborhood. Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother to evacuate with her on Tuesday night as the fire moved toward the home they shared. He told her he wanted to stay behind to try to fight the fire, she recalled.

"When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn't reply back, and I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm — I had to save myself," she said. "And I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave."

Al Tanner, a family friend, told television station KTLA that the next morning, they found Victor's body on the side of the road still holding the hose.

"It looks like he was trying to save the home that his parents had for almost 55 years," Tanner said.

President Joe Biden said during a White House briefing with staff on Thursday that he was making federal resources available and has approved more funding to help California. He described the blazes as the "worst fires to ever hit Los Angeles. Ever."

The new funding will cover 100 percent of the cost for 180 days for hazardous materials removal, temporary shelters, first responder salaries and measures to protect life, he said.

Biden noted that Vice-President Kamala Harris was "directly affected." Harris is a former California senator, and her home there was in the evacuation zone, but it wasn't clear if it was damaged. She described the scene as "apocalyptic".

"This is something that is going to have an impact for months and years to come," she said.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan 20, continued to criticize California Governor Gavin Newsom's handling of the situation.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Newsom "refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way".

Newsom's office responded, saying there was not a declaration.

"There is no such document as the water restoration declaration — that is pure fiction," Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon said in a statement. "The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need."

Newsom said California has deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel. Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington were sending teams to help.

The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial, said that California has not allowed insurance companies to raise premiums related to natural disasters, noting that insurers are "paying out $1.09 in expenses and claims for every $1 they collect in premiums".

"Insurers had already scrapped hundreds of thousands of policies and limited coverage in wildfire-prone areas. Democrats blame climate change, which has become an all-purpose excuse for any disaster-relief failure," the editorial said. "But the real insurance problem is that state regulators have barred insurers from charging premiums that fully reflect risks and costs."

The editorial said that State Farm dropped nearly 70 percent of policyholders in one Pacific Palisades neighborhood "where the average home price is $3.5 million".

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an ocean water advisory on Thursday "out of an abundance of caution due to runoff from current fire-fighting efforts".

The department advised beach users to "avoid all water contact, especially near discharging storm drains, creeks, and rivers due to potential debris from fires and contamination. This includes any runoff that may flow onto or pond on the beach sand.

"This ocean water advisory is being issued due to the unknown quantity of fire-fighting runoff, including potentially toxic chemicals and debris, that have entered the ocean as a result of fire-fighting efforts."

Los Angeles County planned to implement a 6 pm local curfew Thursday in the areas around the Palisades and Eaton fires to stem looting, the Times reported. At least 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of looting, according to officials.

"As we work through the legal process to get that done, the goal is to try and implement it tonight," LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said of the curfew.

Agencies contributed to this story.