Friday Briefing
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A third day of devastating fires in Los Angeles
The economic cost of wildfires in Los Angeles could exceed $50 billion, after three days of fast-moving fires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. Here’s the latest.
Local officials yesterday hoped that decreased winds would finally give firefighters a chance to control the blazes. Helicopters and planes dropped water from the sky, and firefighters battled on the ground. Despite the subsiding winds, the risk remained for current fires to spread and for other fires to ignite.
At least seven people have died in the firestorms, and the Los Angeles County sheriff said he expected the death toll to rise. One of the blazes — the Palisades fire, in one of the city’s most affluent areas — has damaged or destroyed thousands of buildings and has burned more than 17,200 acres.
On the ground: The fires have torn through communities of every socioeconomic status and stripe, affecting mansions as well as ’70s townhouses, ranches and subdivisions. Residents are overwhelmed by the pervasiveness and see themselves as stuck in the middle of a mega-catastrophe.
Aid: President Biden said that the federal government would pay for 100 percent of the firefighting needs in the area for the next 180 days.