Before-and-after images released by Maxar, a space technology company based in Colorado, showed areas particularly hard hit by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
LOS ANGELES – Imagery taken from satellites show the amount of destruction around Los Angeles just 24 hours after a series of blazes erupted around the metro.
Before-and-after images released by Maxar, a space technology company based in Colorado, showed areas particularly hard hit by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
The intense blazes have scorched thousands of acres, reducing homes to rubble, as powerful Santa Ana winds whipped through the region, pushing the fires into populated communities.
County officials have warned that the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks as search-and-recovery operations continue in affected areas.
The intensity of the flames was enhanced by drought conditions that have been building for months.
The combination of low humidity, drought conditions and hurricane-force winds triggered what meteorologists have described as “particularly dangerous” fire conditions.
The disaster has drawn comparisons to the devastating 2023 wildfires in Hawaii, where dry, windy conditions led to the destruction of more than 2,000 structures and claimed the lives of 102 people.
LOS ANGELES METRO ENGULFED BY DEADLY APOCALYPTIC WILDFIRES FUELED BY HURRICANE-FORCE WIND GUSTS
States around the country have pledged resources to the fire fight, but what has made control efforts difficult has been the off-and-on grounding of aerial operations.
Firefighters usually rely on water drops and retardant to help slow the advance of flames, but due to the nature of the terrain and the gusty winds, aerial efforts appeared to be hampered during the start of the firestorm.
Governor Gavin Newsom said the Golden State had been preparing for the extreme fire conditions for days and prepositioned crews to more quickly respond to blazes.
“This is a highly dangerous windstorm that’s creating extreme fire risk — and we’re not out of the woods. We’re already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes,” Newsom said in a statement. “Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire. If you’re in Southern California, please pay attention to weather reports and follow any guidance from emergency officials.”
Authorities have not yet determined the exact cause of the recent fires, but many are often triggered by the downing of utility lines.
Investigators will likely focus on utility lines and other human-related factors as they work to determine the cause of the current fires.
As firefighting efforts continue, officials warn that more fires are possible in the coming days, with conditions remaining dangerously dry and breezy.
FOX Weather’s Robert Ray reports from Los Angeles County, where the latest wildfire has erupted.