Firefighters are intensifying efforts to prevent the Palisades fire, the largest and deadliest of the wildfires threatening Los Angeles, from spreading further into Brentwood, one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
Aerial crews are bombarding the flames with water and fire retardant to hold back the blaze, which has grown by an additional 1,000 acres, bringing its total to nearly 23,000 acres with just 11% containment. The fire has reached the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood, prompting evacuation orders for Brentwood, home to celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bob Iger, and LeBron James.
Also in the evacuation zone is the Getty Center, a hilltop museum housing over 125,000 artworks, including masterpieces by Van Gogh and Monet. So far, the building remains undamaged.
Mounting Criticism and Political Fallout
As the fires rage, frustrations over the handling of the crisis are growing. Many hydrants ran dry as firefighters struggled to contain the fast-moving flames, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to launch an investigation into the unavailability of a key reservoir.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley voiced her concerns about the shortage and criticized budget cuts that left over 100 fire apparatuses out of service. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who faced backlash for being in Ghana during the fires, said she and Chief Crowley would resolve any differences privately.
A change.org petition calling for Mayor Bass’s resignation has garnered over 70,000 signatures.
Rising Death Toll and Evacuations
The fires have claimed at least 11 lives, a number expected to rise as search-and-rescue teams, aided by cadaver dogs, scour the wreckage. Over 153,000 residents are under mandatory evacuation orders, with another 166,000 warned to prepare for evacuation.
The wildfires’ devastation is immense, with the Palisades fire and Eaton fire (14,000 acres, 15% contained) together destroying an area more than twice the size of Manhattan.
Support and Security Measures
With strong Santa Ana winds forecast to return, neighboring states, the federal government, and Canada and Mexico have deployed resources to California. Governor Newsom has also doubled the number of National Guard troops on the ground to 1,680, citing concerns about looting and enforcing a sunset-to-sunrise curfew in evacuated areas.
More than two dozen arrests have been made for looting, burglary, and curfew violations, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
Heartbreaking Losses
The intensity of the fires has been staggering, melting car wheels into puddles of liquid metal. In Pacific Palisades, estate agent Rick McGeagh reported that only 6 out of 60 homes in his neighborhood survived. The only thing left standing at his house was a statue of the Virgin Mary amidst ash and rubble.
“Everything else is ash and rubble,” said McGeagh, a 61-year-old father of three.
As Los Angeles battles these devastating fires, the city faces not only a natural disaster but also scrutiny over its preparedness and response to one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in recent history.
