Over 150,000 people in Los Angeles have been evacuated to safety amid the eighth day of the blazing wildfires in the neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades. The cause of the fires is still being investigated. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that the first fire started at 10:30 am on Tuesday 7th January.
Around 14,000 firefighters are now based in California, equipped with 1,354 fire engines to tackle the blaze. In addition to the fire engines and firefighters, over 60 aerial firefighting aircraft are currently being used to fight the fire.
Is LAX open?
LA county officials say the fire threat remains ‘very high’, with strong winds to continue until Wednesday 15th. Disruptions to air travel should be expected due to the fires and strong winds. Road closures around the city should be expected due to evacuation routes opening for locals.
Despite the high fire threat, Los Angeles International (LAX) and Hollywood Burbank airports both remain open. Over 200 flights have been delayed with 40 flights cancelled today. In response to numerous changed flights, fees have been waived by many airlines for flights to both Los Angeles and Orange County where the disruption has occurred. This includes airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines, and JetBlue.
More than 60 aircraft currently being used to fight the LA wildfire
More than 20,000 structures have been damaged in the fires. Super scoopers and tactical planes have been brought in to drop gallons of water and pink fire retardant over the burning ground and buildings. The retardant helps firefighters create a perimeter in restricted areas and tackle the blaze quickly. With a bold pink colour, it aids firefighters and pilots in seeing the fire lines from above, in order to stop the spread of the fire.
Airtankers holding up to 1,200 gallons of fire retardant are used to drop over the flames. These particular Airtankers can be refilled in minutes. Therefore, making aircraft such as Grumman s-2T efficient for beating the wildfire. Cal Fire has 23 Grumman s-2T’s currently in action in Los Angeles.
The fire retardant, made up of mostly water and 12% ammonium phosphate is not harmful or toxic to people or animals. The retardant is thick with gum thickeners and often sticky, to stick to the target, such as vegetation. The pink fades with sunlight after a few days, remaining on its target but slowly becoming more unrecognisable as the days pass.
Resources available for evacuees
With many evacuation shelters, disaster relief and animal sanctuaries in the Los Angeles area opened, with more being opened each day there are plenty of resources if needed.
