LA Wildfire Soars

Firefighters battled to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed at least five people, burned at least 10,000 structures from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.
Firefighters struggled against blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said classes will not resume until the conditions improve and that the district has lost two elementary schools and that one high school is significantly damaged. He also said the district’s foundation is working to support district employees who have lost their homes.
Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom in a social media post said 900 additional firefighters were being deployed to battle the fast-moving Kenneth
Fire near the West Hills and Calabasas.
The fire ballooned in size — charring more than a square mile — within hours of igniting.
More than 5,300 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire, and the Eaton Fire has destroyed more than 5,000 structures, authorities said Authorities expect those numbers could change depending on additional mapping and surveying.
More than 425,000 customers statewide are without power, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.
Southern California Edison wrote on its website that several community resource centers have been set up around the region and work crews have been deployed within impacted communities. The resource centers allow customers to charge mobile devices and medical equipment and get information.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said Wednesday night that it had restored power to more than 150,000 customers. Roughly
94,000 of the utility’s customers remained without power Thursday morning, as wind and fire conditions continued to present hazards for work crews.
(Newsmax.com)