At least 10 believed to be dead in California fires with officials expecting the death toll to rise

euronews (in English)

At least 10 are believed to be dead as multiple blazes scorch several cities in the Los Angeles County Area in one of the worst outbreaks of wildfires to strike southern California.

Transcript

00:00At least 10 people are believed to be dead as wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles.

00:08The city has been battling five concurrent fires, two of them classified major, that

00:12have caused extensive damage to the iconic city.

00:16And officials confirmed that a sixth fire, named Kenneth, has broken out.

00:21We are now actively engaged in a new brush fire.

00:25We're calling it the Kenneth fire in the West Hills area of Los Angeles, on the border

00:30of Ventura County.

00:32This fire was over 50 acres upon arrival.

00:35With the potential for rapid growth, authorities say the two biggest fires, the Palisades and

00:41Eaton, have destroyed more than 10,000 structures combined.

00:45Homes, buildings, grocery stores, banks, schools, and places of worship were burnt to a crisp

00:51in what U.S. President Joe Biden called the worst fires to ever hit the city.

00:57Many areas across L.A. are covered in thick clouds of smoke and ash, further devastating

01:02Angelenos.

01:03I've woken up with burning eyes and a sore throat, coughing.

01:09I've had friends talk about getting nosebleeds.

01:11It's just awful.

01:12I'm sleeping in a mask.

01:16And the problem is not one that will likely fade soon.

01:20The amount of smog and toxins in the air, it's like, you know, even though our house

01:26is spared, obviously we're probably not going to be able to move back in for months.

01:33Officials say the Palisades and Eaton fires alone have burnt through close to 30,000 acres

01:38of land.

01:40The other four fires that are still ablaze are responsible for even more damage.

01:45Analysts say it can take months or even years to rebuild to pre-fire levels.

01:50And though the government has not yet released figures on how much the damages are estimated

01:54at, private companies believe costs are in the $135 to $150 billion region.

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