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LAST UPDATE | 11 Jan
THE LARGEST OF the Los Angeles’ fires is spreading towards previously untouched neighborhoods today, forcing new evacuations and dimming hopes that the disaster was coming under control.
Across the city, at least 11 people have died as multiple fires have ripped through residential areas since Tuesday, razing thousands of homes in destruction that US President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene”.
Despite huge firefighting efforts, the Palisades fire’s expansion prompted evacuation orders in affluent neighbourhoods along its eastern flank, which include the famous Getty Center art museum.
Winds are forecast to pick up again today after a brief lull, posing the risk of new fires as embers are blown into dry brush.
Los Angeles residents have increasingly demanded to know who is at fault for the disaster as they grapple with the ruin and local anger rises over officials’ preparedness and response.
Residents like Nicole Perri, whose home in the upscale Pacific Palisades burnt down, told AFP that officials “completely let us down”.
“I don’t think the officials were prepared at all,” James Brown, a 65-year-old retired lawyer in Altadena, said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered a “full independent review”, describing the lack of water supplies during the initial fires as “deeply troubling”.
“We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in an open letter.
As reports of looting grew, a sunset-to-sunrise curfew was imposed in evacuated areas.
Around two dozen arrests have already been made across Los Angeles, where some residents have organised street patrols and kept armed watch over their own houses.
The National Guard has been deployed to bolster law enforcement.
Five separate fires have so far burned more than 37,000 acres (15,000 hectares), destroying around 12,000 buildings, California’s fire agency reported.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed an additional fatality on Friday, bringing the overall death toll so far to 11 – though the figure is expected to rise.
“It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” Biden said, as he received a briefing at the White House.
Winds had calmed yesterday, providing a fleeting window of opportunity for firefighters battling blazes around the clock for a fourth consecutive day.
Braveheart actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating”.
Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Billy Crystal were among a long list of celebrities who lost houses, while Prince Harry and his wife Meghan — who quit royal life in 2020 and moved to California — were seen comforting survivors.
The Palisades fire was only eight percent contained on Saturday morning and spreading east after burning 21,600 acres.
Emergency chiefs warned the situation was still extremely dangerous.
The winds “are going to increase again in the coming days”, Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said.
Authorities have said it was too early to know the cause of the blazes.
Biden on Friday took a veiled swipe at incoming president Donald Trump, who has spread misinformation over the fires that has then been amplified on social media.
“You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage,” the president said.
Newsom, who has been blamed for the disaster by the president-elect, invited Trump to visit Los Angeles and survey the devastation with him.
“We must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines,” said Newsom.
Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley pointed to recent funding cuts of the service, saying her department was chronically under-resourced and short of staff.
Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.
Emergency managers apologised Friday after false evacuation alerts were erroneously sent to millions of mobile phones, sparking panic.
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Something unnatural about all this. Who would let work dictate their entire life and the existence or non-existence of their kids?!
Yeah, imagine forcing women to delay having children so they can make even more super profits.
Disgraceful. Yeah.
Careers should fit around families not the other way round.
If equal maternity and paternity leave was given and jobs were shared properly upon return to the workplace then there would be no need nor a want to freeze eggs for this purpose.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a partner and be able to make the decision that they will have kids eg. next year. If it was only that simple!!
Some of us might liked to have kids before 35 but relationships didnt work out etc. No harm to freeze a few eggs, take the pressure off!
Very true but this should be state enabled. Rather than by multinational companies looking to increase their profits rather than look out for the individual.
These companies are looking to increase female participation and I would think that the majority of women are held back by the fact that maternity leave (without equal paternity leave) takes them out of the professional world and leaves them at a negative standing.
Introduce paternity leave and level the playing field. And give fathers their right to bond with their children too.
Obviously, not every family is catered for in this situation, but if you want to freeze your eggs I don’t think facebook or apple should have anything to do with it.
Thats all true Laoise.. I know plenty of women want to go back to their career once maternity leave is over. Its their right and it should be so. Sadly things can change in the workplace while you are away. Its often very subtle. Sometimes its not. Personally speaking, my job was given to the bosses son during my maternity leave and i was made redundant. I could have sued but i think i was glad. I got a job 2 minutes away from home with less stress.
Having said all that and i am glad that i am with the kids full time now, i do miss working. There is a bias against working mothers and its terribly unfair. Something needs to change!
@Laoise This sounds like it is aimed at their American workforce, and over there all healthcare is generally paid for by your employer.
Agh nepotism is another thing I’d love to eradicate but that’s just an ideal world.
Things certainly need to change but I’d like to think they are slowly. There’s an apetite for discussion over these matters whereas before anything other than the status quo was shot down.
And, I think the view of the working mother is changing now also. I know plenty of working mothers, single and married that excell at working and raising a family. Lots of working fathers that buck the trend too. There just needs to be encouragement. :)
@John They may be targeting American avenues now but they have a large employee base in Ireland too so that ethos may eventually carry over here.
And I’ll use any excuse to talk about maternity/paternity leave in Ireland :)
New life is never guaranteed, speaking from experience I would never have delayed having children.. Little did I know it was never meant to be ..
This is actually disgusting, I can understand career people not wanting kids but I wouldn’t delay having my family to make my boss happy. Good shout about Apple and facebook, it’s about time they paid their way
Unclench!
Nobody is forced to do this. It’s actually an additional benefit being offered to those who want it..
Its would be great if Apple and Facebook paid their taxes too. Maybe we could fund a lot more social health solutions.
Brave New World!?
I was lucky to have one and we should have started much earlier!
Short-sighted view of employee retention and maximising talent and also a way to eliminate older workers. Would like to see upfront their policy on supporting the same women returning to the workforce following maternity leave in their 40′s and supporting their careers having frozen their eggs. But no, that’s probably not part of the plan. If they’re not going to support family-friendly policies in natural child-bearing years they’re sure as hell not going to do it in later years.
Corporate greed and short-term view of retention and maximising employee talent. Would like to see what their family-friendly policy is in supporting older women returning to the workforce following maternity in their 40′s having frozen their eggs. No, probably not part of the plan.
It would be great if Apple and Facebook paid their taxes too, instead of using our society as place to wash money through.
Corporate state. Orwell. Is well and truly here.
the system programming the robots
Sad state of affairs. With the recession many people are finding themselves in this crux. Having both partners working has eroded a lot of family life. All to pay a bigger mortgage.
I heard other so called experts suggest that women should go back to giving birth at 17 or 18 straight after leaving high school as they could be in college at 20 – 21 and ready to give the rest of their lives over to their career.In other words if you must have kids have them but your life belongs to a corporation and don’t forget that.Also I’ve read a theory that some companies should start providing on site full schooling ie.playgroup – university for employees kids so that the kids can be raised in the corporate culture so that they could make perfect future employees. Companies like Google or Facebook certainly have the resourses to create such a system and the need for such employees.I put it down as a conspiricy theory but now Im not so sure.
This is outrageous, particularly since ova preservation has a much lower success rate than sperm or embryo preservation! Great that they are giving their employees the option if that’s what they wish, but not sure it would be for me!
have your say