The U.S Military has been placed on standby for deployment to combat the Los Angeles wildfires which have continued to hit several areas of the city.
The U.S Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, Deanne Criswell, in an interview with ABC, said the agency has the required funding to respond to the wildfires.
“The biggest concern that I have right now is the fact that we are still in such a dangerous situation. The red flag warnings have been reissued, the winds are coming back, and we still want to make sure that people are in a safe place.
“And I know that that’s hard for so many because they want to get back in, they want to see their home, they want to see if there is anything left. But this life safety piece, not just for them, but making sure that our firefighters don’t get hurt as well, that is the most important piece as they continue to try to contain this fire.
“There are active duty military personnel that are on a prepare to deploy order, that are ready to go in and continue to support the firefighting effort.
“Those incident commanders at each of those command posts, they are going to know exactly what they need. And if they need anything else, we’re able to come in and support them,” she said.
The death toll from the wildfires rose to 16 as crews battled to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said on Saturday night.
Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, they said in a statement.
So far, over 100,000 people are under evacuation orders, while the city also battles looters who have become a major source of worry for the authorities, going as far as dressing as firefighters in order to steal from evacuated homes.
Los Angeles county fire officials in a press conference expressed worry on the rising levels of the fire, saying it could continue until Wednesday.
“Elevated critical fire weather conditions will continue through Wednesday,” says fire chief Anthony Marrone.
“These winds, combined with low relative humidities and low fuel moisture, will keep the fire threat in LA county very high.”
Marrone said the two largest fires, Eaton and Palisades, are 27% and 11% contained respectively.