Washington, Jan. 13: The devastating wildfires in California have claimed 24 lives and destroyed thousands of homes as the blaze continues to rage on its eighth day. The inferno, which has scorched over 40,000 acres, has ravaged Southern California and parts of Los Angeles, marking one of the worst disasters in the region’s history. In response to the catastrophe, the White House has mobilised resources, and the state has received logistical support from neighboring Mexico and Canada to help extinguish the flames.

Of the reported casualties, eight died in the Palisades fire and 16 in the Eaton fire. Approximately 1,00,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes.

The fires started on January 6 and coincided with the dry Santa Ana winds. Although the winds and wildfires are natural occurrences in California’s ecology, this year things were different – compared to 2022 and 2023, this winter has been significantly drier. The strong winds also contributed to the raging fires, hindering dousing efforts.

The largest among the fires is the Palisades fire, which burned 23,723 acres in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu. It is followed by the Eaton fire which burned 14,117 acres in Altadena. This fire alone has been responsible for burning down over 7000 structures.

Amid relatively smaller fires are the Kenneth fire that burned 1,052 acres in West Hills and the Hurst fire spread across 799 acres. The Lidia fire, on Soledad Canyon road in Acton, is spread across 395 acres. The Sunset fire, behind the iconic Hollywood sign, is 43 acres wide.

The cost of damages have mounted up to $150 billion dollars, making it the costliest wildfire so far, and the third costliest natural disaster in the country’s history after Hurricane Harvey ($160 billion) and Hurricane Katrina ($201 billion). So far, over 12,000 structures have been burned down across approximately 40,000 acres.

The Palisades Fire has been 13 per cent contained, and the Eaton Fire has been 27 per cent contained. The Hurst Fire has been 89 per cent contained. The other three fires are now 100 per cent contained.

Several celebrity homes have been burned down in the fires, including that of Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, Spencer Pratt, Milo Ventimiglia, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. Most of them were reported in the Palisades Fire which consumed the affluent Pacific Palisades neighbourhood.

There have been 29 arrests on grounds of looting and breaking curfews imposed by authorities. Governor Newsom wrote on X: “Looting will not be tolerated. These communities have suffered enough.” He assured that he would deploy 8,000 National Guards on the ground.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued a statement saying that Southern California is facing a critical fire weather through Wednesday (January 15). “Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity are forecast for much of Southern California – from Ventura to San Diego – creating a significant risk of rapid fire spread,” the department wrote on X. “The winds will cause increased fire activity,” it added.

US President-elect Donald Trump has accused officials of incompetence while handling the fire. “This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?” he said.

Experts have pointed to climate change as the key player. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) stated that 10 of the largest wildfires in the state have occurred in the last 20 years, and five of them happened in 2020 alone. 2024 was the warmest year recorded globally, with temperatures exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above its pre-industrial levels.-Agencies