Winds, arsonists complicate fight against LA-area wildfires as crews report progress

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The windy, flame-fanning weather that put the nation’s second most-populous metropolitan region on edge eased up Wednesday as firefighters made significant gains against the two massive wildfires burning around Los Angeles.

A Particularly Dangerous Situation red-flag warning expired in the afternoon, but dry conditions and gusty winds were forecast to linger into Thursday. So much of the nation’s second-most populous metropolitan region remained on alert for new outbreaks and flareups from the fires, which have killed at least 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

Earlier Wednesday gusts whipped up to 50 mph (80 kph) in the mountains, though many areas saw relatively light winds late in the morning, according to the National Weather Service. Better conditions expected in the coming days should help fire crews make even more headway and allow residents to return to their neighborhoods to begin rebuilding.

Still, firefighters and police faced new challenges. Since the beginning of the wildfire outbreak last week, authorities have arrested about half a dozen people accused of setting new, small fires that were quickly knocked down.

One suspect admitted starting a fire in a tree “because he liked the smell of burning leaves,” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. Another arson suspect said “she enjoyed causing chaos and destruction,” he said Wednesday.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and his counterpart in Orange County, Todd Spitzer, have proposed legislation to make looting during a local emergency a felony punishable with a state prison sentence. It would also classify looting as a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law and make it harder to expunge from a criminal record.

Authorities have not determined a cause for any of the major fires that are on track to become the nation’s costliest fire disaster.

Officials facing questions over response

LA officials, who already were criticized for hydrants running dry, faced more questions. Fire officials chose not to double the number of firefighters on duty last Tuesday as winds increased, and only five of more than 40 engines were deployed, according to internal records obtained by The Los Angeles Times and interviews with fire commanders.

The department also did not call in off-duty firefighters until after the Palisades Fire erupted.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley defended her decisions.

“I can tell you and stand before you, we did everything in our capability to surge where we could,” she told a news conference.

Crowley insisted that despite “limited capacity” within the department, crews were able to respond swiftly by calling for assistance from other agencies and issuing a plea for help on social media to off-duty firefighters.

Increasing containment on biggest fires

More manageable winds on Tuesday allowed firefighters to make gains on the deadliest and most destructive fires. Almost half of the Eaton Fire just north of LA has been contained, and one-fifth of the fire that destroyed much of the seaside neighborhood of Pacific Palisades is now surrounded.

Both of those fires broke out Jan. 7 in conditions similar to what’s expected Wednesday, though winds were higher last week when they pushed flames at remarkable speed and carried fire-sparking embers for miles.

The weather service has issued red-flag warnings — indicating temperatures are warm, humidity is low and strong winds are expected — through Wednesday afternoon from the Central Coast south to the border with Mexico.

Packed and ready to go

Weary and anxious residents said they were ready to make a hasty escape amid the threat from intense winds.

Javier Vega, who said he feels like he has been “sleeping with one eye open,” and his girlfriend have planned out how they can quickly pack up their two cats, eight fish and leopard gecko if they get orders to evacuate.

“Typically on any other night, hearing helicopters flying overhead from midnight to 4 in the morning, that would drive anyone crazy,” Vega said. But figuring they were helping firefighters to keep the flames from threatening their neighborhood, he explained, “it was actually soothing for me to go to sleep.”

Long road of rebuilding ahead

Los Angeles authorities promised to do everything they could to help people recover from the fires and rebuild. But Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged there is no way to replace much of what has been lost in the wildfires.

“You’ve lost memories, family. All of the experiences that took place there are gone, and gone unexpectedly, gone rapidly,” Bass said.

Earlier this week, the mayor issued an executive order to help expedite the recovery by eliminating red tape and allowing people to live in tiny homes and trailers while they rebuild.

Different kind of disaster

Thomas Martin works with Calvary Disaster Relief, a group that responds to disasters all over the world. He was recently in Florida and North Carolina helping with the recovery from Hurricane Helene.

Most times, he shows up after floods, tornadoes and hurricanes, helping people repair their roofs and rip out soggy carpet and walls.

“This is different,” he said. “This is total devastation. There’s nothing much we can do other than pray for the folks.”

A Southern California woman was overwhelmed after firefighters discovered her wedding ring amid the rubble of her home that was destroyed by the Eaton Fire.

Victoria DeSantis, her husband, Marko DeSantis, and their two children, have lived in their Altadena home on the 3200 block of Olive Avenue for 18 years. 

“One of the guys, he said, ‘I found a ring, but it isn’t gold,’ and it was my wedding band,” she said of the incredible discovery. “I thought it had melted into a blob of metal, but he found my wedding band intact.”

Wildfires on the rise across LA

With almost no rain in more than eight months, the brush-filled region has had more than a dozen wildfires this year, mostly in the greater Los Angeles area.

The four largest fires around the nation’s second-biggest city have scorched more than 63 square miles (163 square kilometers), roughly three times the size of Manhattan.

Searching for victims

Nearly 30 people remain missing, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday.

Deputies have searched more than 5,500 properties for victims from the Eaton Fire and hope to finish in that area by Thursday, he said.

Among the many tragic losses families have suffered amid the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County, an Altadena man’s stands out.

On Tuesday Jan. 7 when the Eaton Fire broke out, Jordan Mitchell was in the hospital fighting sepsis and a concussion suffered from a hard fall.  

The primary caregiver for his 68-year-old father, Anthony, who lost a leg from diabetes and his 35-year-old brother Justin, who lived with cerebral palsy and was a paraplegic, Mitchell learned that his father called first responders for help evacuating that Tuesday.  

“When he told me that he called for evacuation, I totally assumed that they would be taken care,” Mitchell told KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade.  

Paramedics, however, didn’t arrive until early Wednesday morning just as fiery embers kicked up by hurricane force winds hit the family’s Altadena house, sparking a fire that consumed property and claimed the lives of both Anthony and Justin.  

Entertainment community reacts

The Grammy awards ceremony will happen Sunday in LA and will focus on helping the city’s recovery.

“In challenging times, music has the power to heal, comfort and unite like nothing else,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. and Tammy Hurt, chair of the board of trustees, wrote in a letter sent to Recording Academy members that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.