According to a report by the city’s medical examiner on Thursday evening, at least 10 people have died as severe wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area in the US state of California.
“All cases are currently pending identification and legal next of kin notification,” the coroner’s office revealed in a statement.
At this time, it is still unknown how the fires got started and they are still going out of control as of Friday morning.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, over 5,300 homes have been wrecked in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood alone since the fires began on Tuesday.
Additionally, around 4,000 to 5,000 buildings have been either destroyed or damaged in the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, including single-family and multi-family homes and commercial properties, according to Anthony Marrone, the fire chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
While two of the major fires were being contained on Thursday, another one – the Kenneth Fire broke out in the West Hills and Hidden Hills area between Los Angeles and Ventura. California Governor Gavin Newsom said that an additional 900 firefighters would be deployed to fight that blaze. After several hours, the advance of the flames was reportedly contained.
It has hardly rained in Southern California for at least eight months. Trees and shrubs have dried up. Added to this are the seasonally typical strong Santa Ana winds, which have been fanning the flames rapidly.
According to media reports, an estimate of 10,000 buildings have been destroyed in the fires so far.
