A new blaze started in Los Angeles — the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills. The latest fire had grown to over 50 acres, but officials said firefighters were starting to get a handle on putting out the flames.
LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart told KABC that firefighters are in a “much better place” after helicopters dropped water from the air over the flames.
“On the eastern side, there are active flames within the interior of the fire, but the perimeter is holding well thanks to a fire road and ground crews in place,” the department said.
President Joe Biden has canceled his trip to Italy to fully focus on the relief efforts and the federal response, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday.
“It’s like a third-world country out there,” said Kathryn Barger, chair of the LA County Board of Supervisors.
Barger described the Eaton Fire — which was then 10,600 acres with 0% containment — as unlike anything she had ever seen before.
“We are prone to wildfires, but nothing like what I witnessed today,” she said.
The news comes as firefighters battled to get under control three other major fires that have killed five people, put 130,000 people under evacuation orders, and destroyed homes and properties from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena.
The Sunset Fire was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said between 200 and 500 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton Fire.
“Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire,” he said.
The Palisades fire was the most destructive in Los Angeles history, with at least 1,000 structures burned.
Meanwhile, the he Sunswept Fire is now under control, the unified Los Angeles command responding to the fires said early Thursday.
