Devastating wildfires fueled by powerful winds have ripped through Malibu and surrounding areas in California, causing widespread destruction and raising concerns about the costliest wildfire disaster in US history.
Firefighters battled blazes that ravaged beachfront homes along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu in the Palisades Fire . Less than 24 hours later, three more blazes ignited in the area, with one, the Eaton Fire , engulfing another 2,000-plus acres. Crews were unable to contain any of the burning area as of Wednesday morning, the LA Fire Department reported. More than 1,000 structures have burned, at least two people have died, and the blazes could worsen in the coming hours.
An 'urban firestorm' that could be the costliest in history. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain declared it an'urban firestorm' as he assessed live imagery of the developing Eaton Fire on Tuesday morning. Perhaps the best historical comparison, the 1991 Tunnel Fire that raged through more than 1,500 acres of Oakland, was smaller than either of the two giant blazes in Los Angeles. It killed 25 people and injured 150, and ranks as the third-deadliest and third-most-destructive fire in California history. Swain said that he and multiple colleagues have estimated that the Palisades Fire could turn out to be the costliest on record in the US, due to the number of structures burning and the fact that those homes are some of the 'We are looking at what is, I think, likely to become the costliest wildfire disaster in California, if not national history, along with a number of other superlatives,' Swain said. Homes at risk are some of the most expensive real-estate in the world. A powerful windstorm buffeted the flames throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday morning, with gusts of wind reaching up to 90 miles per hour. During a two-and-a-half hour period overnight, the Palisades Fire's size more than doubled, per the fire service's reports. On Tuesday evening the winds were so powerful that water- and retardant-dropping aircraft could not fl
Wildfires California Malibu Eaton Fire Palisades Fire 'Urban Firestorm' Costliest Disaster Windstorm Destruction
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