The Palisades Fire, currently devastating Los Angeles, covers an area that would engulf much of metropolitan St. Louis if superimposed on the region. At more than 20,400 acres and only 8% contained as of Friday afternoon, the wildfire’s massive scale becomes clearer when compared to a familiar local landscape.
The Associated Press reports:
Firefighters are hoping for a break Friday from the fierce winds that have fueled massive blazes in the Los Angeles area, killing 10 people, obliterating whole neighborhoods and setting the nation’s second-largest city on edge.
On Thursday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire started in the San Fernando Valley. It moved into neighboring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.
The fires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday, when they first began popping up around a densely populated, 25-mile (40-kilometer) expanse north of downtown Los Angeles. No cause has been identified yet for the largest fires.
Here’s the latest:
How to help firefighters and other first responders
Firefighters have spent the past few days battling major fires across the Los Angeles area with fierce winds hampering their efforts. Here are a couple of organizations that are working to support firefighters, first responders, and their families.
California Fire Foundation: California Professional Firefighters founded the nonprofit in 1987 to support families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and communities impacted by fires. The foundation is supporting both firefighters responding to the Los Angeles fires as well as people affected.
Watch Duty: The nonprofit service provides real-time updates on wildfire activity, evacuations, shelters and more via its free app, which more than 1.4 million people downloaded in the 48 hours since the fires began. The organization relies on donations and a team of 200 volunteers, gathering and vetting information from radio scanners and official sources, to do its work.