LOS ANGELES: US officials warned “dangerous and strong” winds were set to push deadly wildfires further through Los Angeles residential areas Sunday as firefighters struggled to make progress against the flames. At least 16 people have been confirmed dead from blazes that have ripped through the city, reducing whole neighborhoods to ashes and leaving thousands without homes.

Despite massive efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades Fire continued to grow, spreading east towards the priceless collections of the Getty Center art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.

“The winds are potentially getting dangerous and strong again,” Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told CNN. “The biggest thing that people need to know is that this is still dangerous.”

A brief lull in the wind gave way to gusts that forecasters warned could reach up to 80 km per hour early Sunday, and feed the blazes for days to come. The winds were due to weaken later Sunday before picking up again overnight, the National Weather Service said. The Palisades Fire was 11 percent contained but had grown to 23,600 acres, while the Eaton Fire was at 14,000 acres and 15 percent contained.

Official figures show more than 12,000 structures burned, though Cal Fire’s Todd Hopkins said not all were houses and the number included outbuildings, trailers and sheds. In some areas, the ferocious fire left streaks of molten metal flowing from burnt-out cars. The sudden rush of evacuated people needing somewhere to live posed a growing problem for the city. “I’m back on the market with tens of thousands of people,” said a man who gave his name as Brian, whose rent-controlled apartment has burned. “That doesn’t bode well.”

With incidences of looting and a nighttime curfew in place, police and National Guard mounted checkpoints to prevent people getting into the disaster zones. Two people were arrested near Vice President Kamala Harris’s Brentwood house for violating the curfew order after police received reports of burglary. A handwritten sign with “looters will be shot” was hung on one tree, next to the US flag outside a house in Pacific Palisades.

But the security checkpoints have left residents frustrated as they queue for up to 10 hours to try to get back in and see what, if anything, is left of their homes or check on family. Prevented from entering an evacuation zone, Altadena resident Bobby Salman, 42, said: “I have to be there to protect my family, my wife, my kids, my mom and I cannot even go and see them.”

The queues left some people fuming about poor management, the latest gripe from a population already angry over hydrants that ran dry in the initial firefight. City officials have put on a united front after reports of a behind-the-scenes row between the mayor and the fire chief. But President-elect Donald Trump accused California officials of incompetence. “This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, long a target of Trump’s criticism, pushed back in an interview which aired on Sunday, but also offered a conciliatory hand. “Responding to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend another month,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press”. “Every elected official that he disagrees with is very familiar with them.” But in a pivot, the governor added, “I called for him to come out, take a look for himself. We want to do it in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist. He’s the president-elect.”

Teams with cadaver dogs were combing through the rubble, with several people known to be missing and fears that the death toll will grow. Among those known to have died in the tragedy was former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who appeared in British TV show “Kiddy Kapers” in the 1990s.

A huge investigation by federal and local authorities was underway to determine what caused the blazes. Newsom told Meet the Press he was also launching a “Marshall Plan” for the state as it looks to rebuild. “We already have a team looking at reimagining LA 2.0,” he said. He also stressed the immediate problem of weather conditions, saying “the challenge is the winds. We’ve got these winds coming back this evening, Sunday night. We’ve got peak winds on Monday.”

While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are often natural, and a vital part of an environment’s life cycle. But urban sprawl puts people more frequently in harm’s way, and the changing climate — supercharged by humanity’s unchecked use of fossil fuels — is exacerbating the conditions that give rise to destructive blazes. – AFP