At least seven people have died in the massive fires burning in the Los Angeles area, authorities said.
Five fires continue to burn in Los Angeles County. The two biggest being the Palisades fire and the Eaton Fire cover more than 42 square miles. Though the Eaton Fire remains at 0% containment, the Palisades Fire is now at 6% containment.
President Joe Biden gave an update late Thursday afternoon pledging help from the federal government to fight the fires and to rebuild what’s already been lost.
More than 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. The winds fueling the fires slowed Thursday, but the extreme fire conditions remain.
The devastation is personal for former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot. She told NBC Chicago her aunt and uncle, who are in their nineties live in Altadena. They made it out safely, but their home of 60 years on Olive Street burned to the ground.
“It’s pretty devastating for my beloved aunt and uncle, who I’ve always been close with,” said Lightfoot. “I was actually just out there in October to see them at that very house and now to think that they’re going to figure out how to start over at their age—it’s pretty tough.”
Lightfoot said every house on their block is gone. As they begin the process to rebuild, police said there have been reports of people looting from evacuated homes and businesses. So far authorities said 20 people have been arrested.
Local
There are shelters set up for thousands of people evacuating. So many forced out of their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
The LA County Sheriff said they will be enforcing evacuation orders and getting help from the National Guard. At this time, arson investigators are on the ground trying to figure out what sparked the Palisades fire.
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