On January 10 (Friday), the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that Los Angeles County in California has declared a public health emergency in response to the impact of wildfires.
Currently, the wildfires have devastated communities on both sides of Los Angeles, resulting in at least 10 deaths, nearly 10,000 buildings destroyed, and 180,000 people displaced from their homes. The relevant data is expected to increase. Among them, the Palisades Fire has burned approximately 26.9 square miles (69.7 square kilometers), the Eaton Fire has burned about 21.4 square miles (55.4 square kilometers), and the Kenneth Fire has burned around 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers).
HHS stated that the emergency declaration provides greater flexibility to medical facilities of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to address the urgent health needs of insured individuals. In addition, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is prepared to deploy emergency personnel and provide medical equipment and supplies when requested by the state government.
As of January 9, approximately 400,000 users in the state experienced power outages, and 180,000 residents received evacuation orders. Officials in Los Angeles County revealed that evacuation orders for residents near the Kenneth Fire were mistakenly issued county-wide due to a technical error.
President Joe Biden declared these wildfires as a major disaster on January 8, pledging that the federal government would cover all recovery costs for the next six months. Biden reiterated his commitment to providing resources to California to extinguish the fires and facilitate reconstruction.
With the weakening of strong winds, firefighting teams continued their efforts to control multiple blazes on Friday. As of that morning, the containment rate was reported at 8% for the Palisades Fire, 3% for the Eaton Fire, 37% for the Hurst Fire, and 35% for the Kenneth Fire. Earlier, swift actions by firefighters successfully contained the spread of the Kenneth Fire.
On Friday, a new bushfire erupted in the Granada Hills area, prompting immediate evacuation orders by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Despite this, there are currently 153,000 residents in evacuation status. The National Weather Service warned that strong winds could strengthen again that night.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced that a curfew for all mandatory evacuation areas would be reinstated at 6 p.m. on Friday, applying to undamaged homes. Previously, due to multiple burglary cases, officials enforced a curfew at night.
Luna warned, “Entering these disaster-stricken areas is prohibited, or else arrests will be made.”
During the wildfire crisis response, the Biden administration collaborated with the team of former President Donald Trump. However, Biden expressed dissatisfaction with Trump’s suggestion to “clear forest floors” to reduce fire risks, believing that burying power transmission lines is safer despite the high cost.
Currently, firefighters are seizing the temporary lull in the winds to fully control the fires and ensure the safety and health of affected residents.