Millions of Southern California residents received new wildfire warnings Tuesday and tens of thousands more faced power outages as strong winds battered Los Angeles, where two massive fires that started a week ago are still raging.
Seasonal Santa Ana winds are expected to continue with enough force to spread the hot ash from the fire for many kilometers, increasing the possibility of new fires in a region where at least 24 people have already lost their lives.
"Life-threatening and destructive winds have already arrived here," Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said at a press conference.
Much of Southern California is at high risk of wildfires due to drought and strong winds. Firefighters are on high alert in a 300-mile (480-kilometer) area stretching from San Diego to north of Los Angeles. The most at risk are the inner areas north of Los Angeles, including the densely populated areas of Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley, with more than 300,000 residents, according to meteorologists.
Nearly 90,000 families were left without electricity after electricity distribution companies decided to cut off electricity supplies to avoid the possibility of new fires being caused by their electrical cables.
Authorities urged exhausted and worried residents to be ready to evacuate.
Meanwhile, police announced that they have arrested 50 people for theft, flying drones in fire zones, violating the state of emergency and other crimes.
Of those, three people were arrested on suspicion of arson after they were seen starting small fires that were quickly extinguished, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said.
Of greater concern remains the threat from strong winds that are expected to reach hurricane-force winds on Tuesday in some areas. Now supported by firefighters from other countries, such as Canada and Mexico, Los Angeles firefighters were deployed to various areas to fight the fires. The number of firefighters and firefighting equipment is now much greater than a week ago, when the first wave of fires began to destroy thousands of homes. /VOA (A2 Televizion)
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