5 dead in LA wildfires as infernos continue to decimate communities amid 100mph winds

The death toll from the destructive Los Angeles wildfires has been updated from two dead to five dead, according to local officials.

The identity of the victims have not been revealed as of yet. Local officials say that 1,000 structures have been destroyed as a result of the fires but that number is expected to rise. Five fire are currently burning in the greater Los Angeles area, according to CALFire. The two largest fires, the Palisades and Eaton Fires have burned over 25,000 acres combined.

Many of the towering fires began Tuesday and were fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, which gusted to more than 70 mph (112 kph) in some spots. The winds persisted Wednesday and for a while made it too dangerous for aircraft to attack the fires from the sky, furthering hampering their efforts. Aerial firefighting resumed Wednesday morning.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that 1,400 fire personnel had been deployed to help battle the blazes and Oregon is reportedly sending 240 firefighters and 60 engines to the state to assist. Los Angeles Fire Department asked all off-duty firefighters in the city to help.

AccuWeather estimates $52 billion to $57 billion in preliminary damage and economic loss has occurred from the fires.

At least 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate — a number that kept changing because evacuation orders were continually being issued.

Several hundred were at the Pasadena evacuation center by Wednesday afternoon. Many were elderly.

The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighborhoods, including Calabasas and Santa Monica, home to California’s rich and famous. Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, were among those forced to flee.

About 1.5 million customers were without power in Southern California, with nearly a million of them in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

President Joe Biden, who was already in Los Angeles this week, met with Gov. Newsom early on Wednesday and was briefed on the incidents by local officials. The president also reportedly spoke with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over the phone while flying back to Washington D.C. on Air Force One.

“It’s going to take time,” Biden warned when talking about the recovery from the wildfires in California.

Newsom thanked Biden for his support, saying, “It’s impossible for me to express the level of appreciation.”

White House national security spokesperson John Kirbyy, who held a virtual briefing for reporters, said it was “it was important for the president while he was there to make it clear to the people of Southern California how diligently our government and our administration is going to support their firefighting efforts, but also their recovery efforts.”

Kirbyy added that Biden's presence in the region did effect the response to the fires.