The death toll due to the ravaging wildfires in Los Angeles, US, which have devoured nearly 10,000 structures and forced a large number of people to flee from the region, touched 10, confirmed the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner on Friday.
“The Department of Medical Examiner received notification of 10 fire-related deaths as of 9 p.m. on January 9,” read the statement issued by the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.
“The identification may take several weeks as the Department of Medical Examiner is not able to respond to all death locations due to the fire conditions and safety concerns,” the statement said.
A fresh fire incident erupted on Thursday in the West Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles and so far 900 acres have been consumed, disrupting normal life in the region.
According to reports, five large wildfires are currently burning in Los Angeles County.
The largest wildfires have been reported from Palisades and Eaton.
The wildfire in Pacific Palisades gutted over 19,000 acres in the area while 13,000 acres of land have been consumed due to the Altadena fire.
As per the Accuweather website,130,000 residents are under evacuation orders because of the wildfires burning across Los Angeles County.
One person, who fled the Palisades Fire with his family, described the loss of his house as ‘unspeakable’.
Giving an update on the Kenneth wildfires, LA County Sheriffs’ office posted on X: “The fire has burned approximately 1,000 acres and is currently 35 percent contained.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden declared that a major disaster existed in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires and straight-line winds, beginning on January 7, 2025, and continuing.
“The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in Los Angeles County,” read a statement issued by the White House.
If media reports are to be believed, properties of Hollywood celebrities, including Paris Hilton and Anthony Hopkins, were hit by the fire.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass posted on X: “Los Angeles will keep standing strong and united during these devastating fires.”
Jeremy Hunter, 53, from Altadena, California, told CNN on Thursday he was unaware a fire broke out near his neighbourhood on Tuesday until a someone reached out to him.
A kidney transplant recipient, Hunter said: “I need to take medicines every 12 hours or something bad will happen to my immune system.”
“I focused on having enough medicine and what was really essential, passports, banking, all that stuff,” Hunter told the American news channel.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
