Fires devastating Los Angeles grow more slowly as fierce winds die down

The two biggest fires devastating the Los Angeles area grew just slightly on Friday as firefighters beat back the blazes that have killed at least 11 people, obliterated neighbourhoods and left the nation’s second-largest city on edge.

Officials expressed optimism that a break from the punishing winds stoking the flames will allow firefighters to make headway on the fires that have burned an area bigger than San Francisco and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday.

“These fires are not out, though today we’re going to make a lot of progress,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday.

Metropolitan Los Angeles and its 13 million residents, who have not seen rain for more than eight months, woke up on Friday to another day of strong winds and the threat of new flareups.

The gusts were expected to diminish by evening, however, and have already died down from earlier in the week, when hurricane-force winds blew embers that ignited hillsides.

But meteorologist Rich Thompson warned the break could be short-lived.

“We’re looking for a little respite on Friday and Saturday from the Santa Ana winds but then they’re going to pick up again Sunday through most of next week,” he said on Thursday evening.

LA mayor Karen Bass said on Friday that firefighters had contained several smaller fires in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire started in the San Fernando Valley near a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire. It moved into neighbouring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.

Dozens of blocks of scenic Pacific Palisades were flattened to smouldering rubble. In neighbouring Malibu, where oceanfront homes once stood, all that was left above the debris were blackened palm strands.

No cause has been identified for the largest fires.

Firefighters for the first time have made progress containing the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, officials said on Friday. It started on Tuesday night and has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.

To the west, the fire in Pacific Palisades, the largest burning in the LA area, has destroyed more than 5,300 structures. The blaze is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries have been burned. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s.

The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage.

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to 135-150 billion dollars (£110 to £123 billion).

Later on Friday, the Los Angeles Fire Department issued an evacuation order because of a brush fire in the Granada Hills area. The area is just west of the Hurst Fire.

Margaret Stewart, a department spokeswoman, said firefighters on the ground and in the air were able to tackle the Archer Fire quickly and that the evacuation order is expected to be downgraded soon.

“We still have some winds and that’s why we have not yet lifted the evacuation order,” Ms Stewart told KTLA.

Authorities have set up a centre for people looking for missing loved ones.

Of the 11 deaths so far, five were from the Palisades Fire and six from the Eaton Fire, according to the LA County medical examiner’s office.

Officials said they expected that number to rise as cadaver dogs go through levelled neighbourhoods to assess the devastation.

Two of the dead were Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy. They were waiting for an ambulance to come and did not make it to safety, Mr Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.

Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate on Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire.

Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.