Firefighters hoped that a brief lull in howling winds would give them a chance on Saturday to block, or at least slow, one of two massive California wildfires that have left at least nine people dead and driven a quarter-million people from their homes.
Cal Fire officials said the Woolsey fire, that destroyed at least 150 homes, 109 square miles and forced residents to evacuate the entire seaside town of Malibu, was still listed as “zero contained.”
Two additional fatalities reported in Malibu may have been related to the fire that swept the area Friday night, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Chief John Benedict.
The Camp Fire, which wiped out the town of Paradise in Butte County, 80 miles north of Sacramento, has consumed 156 square miles and was only 20 percent contained.
Officials say more than 3,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, which is California’s most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began.
The brief respite in the high winds Saturday could give firefighters a chance to control the edges of the blazes and to swap crews, replacing firefighters who had worked for two days without rest, said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.
Still, some treacherous winds were expected to return Saturday night and drive the blaze south across Lake Oroville, threatening Oroville, a town of 19,000 people.
But with the winds expected to return to 35 mph gusts on Sunday, it’s likely more homes would be lost, Osby warned. Ventura County Fire Department Chief Mark Lorenzen said the devastating Santa Ana winds could last through Tuesday.
Osby said Saturday that his firefighters were reporting “conditions they have never seen in their lives.”
“We did lose a lot of homes,” he said. “But we saved thousands of homes.”
He said firefighters’ objectives for Saturday included perimeter control along the 101 freeway, and in Bell Canyon and Malibu Canyon.
Benedict told reporters that he had 200 officers on patrol for “looting suppression.” He warned that his department would have “zero tolerance” for stealing.
Two people have been arrested so far on suspicion of looting, according to Sgt. Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
“If you come here with the intent of taking advantage of this situation, we will arrest you and you will go to jail,” Buschow said.
At Pepperdine University in Malibu, classes were canceled Saturday after a tense Friday evening. When the all-clear order was given around 9 a.m. Saturday, many students drove away from the area, many equipped with face masks.
Despite the evacuation order for Malibu, Hassen Masri, who lives in the Malibu Country Estates neighborhood that abuts the university, stayed in his house Friday night and watched the hills rage with fire around him.
Around midnight, he saw nearly 20 trucks pull onto the Pepperdine University campus once officials learned the students wouldn’t be evacuating.
“It was a hairy experience; it was bad, it was really bad,” Masri said. “When the fire came over the ridge around midnight, I thought I should leave, but I didn’t. Maybe it was crazy that the university didn’t remove the students, but I am thankful for the extra resources that brought. I felt protected by those extra trucks.”
The exotic animals at Ronnie Semler’s Saddlerock Ranch, including zebras and water buffalo, were roaming their corrals Saturday even though a structure that appeared to be a barn, several vehicles and fences burned. The Malibu ranch’s biggest attraction, Stanley the giraffe, appeared happy and curious. Except for one worker, the ranch appeared empty.
In Paris, President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds for Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties but later threatened on Twitter to withhold federal payments to California, claiming its forest management is “so poor.”
“Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests,” he wrote. “Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”
There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
Later Saturday, Trump tweeted again, urging residents to listen to evacuation orders from state and local officials.
“More than 4,000 are fighting the Camp and Woolsey Fires in California that have burned over 170,000 acres. Our hearts are with those fighting the fires, the 52,000 who have evacuated, and the families of the 11 who have died. The destruction is catastrophic. God Bless them all, ” Trump tweeted.
More than 4,000 are fighting the Camp and Woolsey Fires in California that have burned over 170,000 acres. Our hearts are with those fighting the fires, the 52,000 who have evacuated, and the families of the 11 who have died. The destruction is catastrophic. God Bless them all.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
The town is a popular retirement community, raising concerns of elderly and immobile residents who have been reported missing.
On Friday, dozens of burned-out cars and SUVs lined the main road out of Paradise known simply as Skyway, stripped down to their bare metal by flames that melted aluminum engine blocks, vaporized plastic door handles and exploded their windows.
In the afternoon, a small army of firefighters and emergency workers picked their way through the debris, small fires burning in trees and in the ruins of houses. Power lines littered the streets, and heavy smoke blocked out the sun.
For Cinda Larimer, it was the fourth time in 20 years that she has evacuated her home in Paradise. Three times she has came back to an untouched structure.
Not this time. All she now has left is a minivan stuffed with four cats, a turtle and her dog named Buddy.
“We’ve lost it all,” Larimer, 53, said as ash from the burning town drifted onto her shoulders about five miles outside of Paradise. “My mother, she evacuated and only took two outfits. Why? For the same reason: We all thought we’d be going home today.”
Looking back up the mountain to where Paradise sits, Mary Etter, 54, wondered if she would ever get to go back.
For so long, she said, Paradise was the perfect place to live. Not too hot, not too cold. Not burdened with big-city problems, but big enough for people to find jobs and make a living in a town where housing costs were still low. Etter, a home-health aid, helped evacuate her longtime neighbors from their mobile home park, which she believed has been utterly destroyed.
“I’m happy to be here, happy to be here and alive,” she said. “The material things, we can replace those. They’ll be replaced. You can’t replace your life or your friends.”
Barbara Ramsey, 75, saw her home catch fire. She escaped Paradise, driving through flames.
“I screamed at my daughter, my little grandson. I said, ‘We got to get out now!” she said. “So many people didn’t get out –they were burned in their cars.”
The Camp Fire, which has exploded to 156 square miles and has destroyed more than 6,700 structures — most of them homes — is California’s most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began. It has driven out more than 50,000 residents.
In Southern California, west of Los Angeles, the Woolsey fire after jumping Highway 101, the main coastal artery, and racing to the sea.
Officials ordered the evacuation of the entire city of Malibu, which stretches 21 miles along the coastline and includes the homes of such celebrities as Lady Gaga, Mel Gibson and Cher.
The attempt by thousands of residents to flee the flames has been hampered by clogged roads. In addition, power has been cut off in many parts of Malibu, causing gas pumps not to work.
About 20 miles north, in the smoke-choked community of Calabasas, local residents and sooty firefighters gathered at the Starbucks inside the Albertsons supermarket in what appeared to be the only open business inside the evacuation area.
There was no outside electricity, only power from a backup generator. Residents, many wearing masks for protection against the smoke, shared videos that they taken on their smart phones showing flames engulfing their backyards.
Paul Bancroft said he was not about to lose his house, which took him three years to build, in a nearby area known as Old Agoura.
The fire burned “right up to the fence (and) started burning in my bushes.” he said. He managed to douse it with a garden hose.
“I’ve built my home and I didn’t want to leave,” Bancroft said.
Woodyard reported from Malibu, Hughes from Paradise, California.
