The death toll from five fires that broke out on Tuesday, January 7, in Los Angeles County (California, USA) has risen to 16. The natural disaster has already destroyed 12 000 buildings.
This is reported by CBS News.
At least 13 people are missing — it is currently unknown whether these cases are related to the fires.
Los Angeles County declared a public health emergency, warning that smoke and particulate matter could pose an "immediate and long-term threat".
Firefighters are still trying to put out the fire, which is expected to become even more difficult in the coming days due to strong winds and challenging weather conditions.
A total of five fires broke out, but two were the most destructive: the Eaton Fire in the northeastern part of the county near Pasadena and the Palisades Fire in the coastal community of Pacific Palisades.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in modern California history, and also likely the costliest wildfire in modern US history, because the fires are occurring in densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the most valuable real estate in the country,” said the chief meteorologist of a private firm.
AccuWeather is currently estimating the cost of the fires, which have been raging since Tuesday, at between $135 billion and $150 billion. They are currently the most destructive fires California has seen since records began in 1932.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told residents that the city would survive the crisis caused by the wildfires that have swept through Southern California. She added: "We will rebuild an amazing city.”
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