California wildfires leave a trail of destruction, human death, and suffering as property worth billions of dollars is reduced to ashes.
Doomsday imagery of the destruction caused by wildfires in California. Photo Credit: AP News
These are not scenes from post-World War 2 Nagasaki and Hiroshima, but rather the skeletal remains of homes and farmland in scenes that resemble post-1945 bombed-out Dresden. One of California’s four-season sisters, drought, fire, flood, and earthquake, has decided to usher in 2025.
A series of wildfires, the largest of which is the Palisade fires, is wreaking havoc in leafy Los Angeles Pacific neighborhoods and causing extensive destruction.
For the second day in a row, firefighters are in a deathmatch to contain a series of raging wildfires that have burned more than 20,000 acres of prime forests and estates. As of this report, casualty figures are expected to rise, while 180,000 people have been placed under evacuation orders. The county’s officer in charge of Emergency Management insists that red flag warnings will remain in place.
Race Against Time
As late as 6.00 P.M Friday, January 10, 2025, State authorities claim that the wildfires are 35% contained. However, strong and dry headwinds continue to fan the hellish flames, causing wildfires in many places.
To complicate matters even further for the already beleaguered firefighters, the weekend return of Santa Anna winds is expected to push the blazes toward the borders of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Many residents, recounting the day’s horror from the safety of shelters in Pasadena, are recalling how they resisted leaving their homes but were soon forced to flee with only the clothes they wore as the fires crept near.
Looting Taking Place
Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to deploy the National Guard to fight cases of widespread looting. This is happening in the evacuated homes, while the county sheriff’s department has made over 20 arrests on suspicion of looting.
President Biden has compared the moonscape of destruction to a “battle scene where only certain targets have been bombed.” He has acknowledged the evidence of widespread looting and promised to update the incoming Trump administration on how to restore the once-prestigious neighborhoods.
