Los Angeles firefighters holding the line despite extreme winds

LOS ANGELES —Firefighters on Tuesday held the line against two massive wildfires that have ravaged parts of Los Angeles for the past week, even as desert winds and a parched landscape presented extremely hazardous conditions.

Some 8,500 firefighters from at least seven states and two foreign countries prevented the fires from growing for a second straight day as they gained slightly more control of the perimeter of the blazes, which nonetheless have consumed an area the size of Washington, D.C.

A fleet of aircraft dropped water and retardant into the rugged hills while ground crews with hand tools and hoses have worked around the clock since the fires broke out on Jan. 7, with the aircraft occasionally grounded by high winds.

Red flag conditions were expected to last through Wednesday, forecasters said.

The Palisades Fire on the west edge of town held steady at 23,713 acres (96 square km) burned, and containment increased 3 percentage points to 17% - a measurement of how much of the perimeter was under control.

The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the city stood at 14,117 acres (57 sq km) with containment up 2 points to 35%.

A third fire, the Hurst, spanning 799 acres (3.2 sq km) was 97% contained, while a new fire broke out in neighboring Ventura County, burning 56 acres while it was 0% contained.

Three other fires in Los Angeles County have been fully brought under control in recent days.

The death toll held steady at 24 as did the estimate of 12,000 structures damaged or destroyed, still portending a Herculean rebuilding effort ahead.

Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, leaving smoldering ash and rubble. In many homes only a chimney is left standing.

"It's one thing to see it on television. It's another thing to see it from the air. The massive, massive destruction is unimaginable until you actually see it," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a press conference after taking an aerial tour.

Southern California has lacked any appreciable rain since April, turning brush into tinder. Relative humidity has dipped into the single digits for much of the past week, when Santa Ana winds originating from the deserts have whipped over hilltops and rushed through canyons, sending embers flying up to 2 miles (3 km) ahead of the fire.

"It is still very dangerous for the next 24 hours so we're keeping a very close eye. That's why we have not downgraded the number of personnel," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Red flag conditions peaked overnight, when wind gusts surpassed 50 miles per hour (80 kph), the National Weather Service said.

That led firefighters to deploy assets throughout Southern California due to the danger that new fires might break out.

"Life threatening and destructive and widespread winds are already here," Los Angles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.

A few thousand more people were allowed back home but 88,000 remained under evacuation orders with another 84,000 under evacuation warning - large-scale displacements unprecedented in the metropolitan area's history.

"We thank God we're safe, but we don't know what's next," said Altadena resident John Adolph, 48, a video producer who, along with his wife and two children, has been staying with friends since they lost their home in the Eaton Fire a week ago.

Adolph went back to his home to see what he could salvage, but could not get close.

"There were burning grocery stores, gas stations, exploding cars that went pop with glass flying, not like in the movies. Walls of flames two stories tall, tornadoes of flame. I was stupid with a side of crazy to try," he said.

Costly recovery

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the firestorm could rank as the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history. It is already the costliest wildfire in terms of insured losses. Private forecaster AccuWeather's preliminary estimate of $135 billion to $150 billion in total damage and economic loss would come up short of the estimated $225 billion in losses from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.

In Washington, a battle over emergency aid broke out between Republicans and Democrats.

At a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar said his rank-and-file lawmakers would oppose any attempt by Republicans in Congress to attach special conditions to federal disaster aid for L.A. wildfire victims.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has said conditions would be considered when the emergency funding bill moves through Congress. He also said the cost of any wildfire disaster assistance funding should be "paid for," meaning the cost should be covered to prevent adding to the budget deficit, possibly by cutting other programs.

That is a departure from many previous natural disasters, and Democratic Representative Ted Lieu of California called Johnson's position "outrageous."

"We should not be leveraging the pain and suffering of our fellow Americans to try to force new policy changes," Lieu said.—Reuters