Fierce winds that have supercharged wildfires sweeping parts of Los Angeles finally eased on Friday night, bringing some relief to weary firefighters, but the largest blaze was reported to have shifted direction, triggering new evacuation orders.
Six simultaneous wildfires have devastated Los Angeles County neighbourhoods since Tuesday, killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 structures. Those tolls were expected to grow once it was safe enough for firefighters to conduct house-to-house searches.
On Friday night, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Palisades Fire on the city’s western edge was heading in a new direction, prompting an evacuation order that included much of the Brentwood neighbourhood and the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
“The Palisades fire has got a new significant flare-up on the eastern portion and continues to move northeast,” LA Fire Department Captain Erik Scott told local station KTLA, according to a report on the LA Times website.
Before the latest flare-up, firefighters had reported progress arresting the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the metropolis.
After burning out of control for days, despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters attacking the blazes from the air and on the ground, the Palisades Fire was 8 per cent contained and the Eaton Fire 3 per cent. Cal Fire had listed containment levels of both fires at 0 per cent until Friday.