Firefighters continue to battle the raging wildfires that have killed 16 people in the Los Angeles area of California, as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week.Although the Santa Ana winds that have fanned the flames have calmed over the weekend, the US National Weather Service (NWS) warned that stronger gusts of up to 110km/h (70mph) could return early next week.
Local officials said they expected the strongest winds to occur on Tuesday. Red flag warnings remain in effect for Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Wednesday, the NWS said.
Conditions were expected to ease by Thursday.
On Sunday, aircraft dropped water and fire retardant on steep hills to stem the eastward spread of the fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, and KTLA television reported that ground crews had managed to save a number of houses, although others were lost.
“LA County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said. Advertisement
Six simultaneous blazes have ripped across the second-largest US city since Tuesday, killing at least 16 people.
Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a statement on Saturday evening.
Twelve people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said on Sunday morning.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he expected the death toll to rise.
“I’ve got search-and-rescue teams out. We …
