Two Los Angeles County wildfires that grew at an alarming rate during the powerful Santa Ana storm are among the top five most destructive fires on record in California.
The Palisades Fire near the Los Angeles County coast and the Eaton Fire in the hills northeast of Los Angeles broke out Tuesday in extremely windy conditions that firefighters described as some of the worst they have ever encountered. Fueled by wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph, the blaze destroyed entire neighborhoods and gutted businesses in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
The Palisades Fire had destroyed 5,316 structures as of Friday morning, making it California’s third most destructive wildfire on record. The fire is estimated to be approximately 20,000 acres, and as of Friday morning, the fire was 6 percent contained.
“It is no exaggeration to say that the Palisades Fire was one of the most devastating natural disasters in Los Angeles history,” LAFD Chief Christine Crowley said.
The deadly Eaton Fire broke out in the foothills above the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles, destroying more than 4,000 buildings. It was the fourth most destructive wildfire on record in the fire-prone state, and the terrain and terrain combined with high winds kept the flames burning for four straight days.
The Eaton Fire was estimated at about 13,700 acres Friday morning and could not be contained.
The most destructive wildfire in California history is the devastating Camp Fire in Northern California’s Butte County in November 2018. The fire, which started from downed power lines, destroyed 18,804 structures and killed 85 people, Cal Fire said.
The second most costly fire was the Tubbs Fire in October 2017, which was also an electrical wildfire. Flames destroyed 5,636 buildings in Napa and Sonoma counties in the northern Bay Area.
The Eaton and Palisades fires are among six wildfires that broke out in Los Angeles County Friday morning and are still under red flag warnings. Ten deaths have been reported in connection with the fire.
Details about how the fire started were not available early Friday.
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