The dead and missing aren’t all counted
CNN’s landing page this morning blares: LA fires at critical stage as winds to return and death toll rises.
The Washington Post: Death toll rises to 24 as region braces for return of dangerous winds
The New York Times is more specific about the death toll:
The Eaton fire has killed 16 people, making it one of the deadliest in California’s history, and at least eight people have died in the Palisades blaze. Another 16 people have been reported missing in the areas of the two fires, and officials have warned the number of fatalities is likely to rise.
CNN has already begun profiling the lives lost:
An amputee and his son with cerebral palsy were among the 24 deaths in the fires raging around Los Angeles. The father was found at his son’s bedside.
One victim told a relative that he did not want to evacuate. He died trying to fight the blaze that consumed his home of more than 50 years.
Another victim, an 85-year-old woman, refused to leave her home as the fast-moving Palisades Fire approached, preferring instead to stay behind with her beloved pets. A former child star from Australia also was among those who died, as well as a Malibu resident and surfer who was called a “magnet for people.”
The piece goes on to provide details on half a dozen who died in the fire. It concludes ominously, “This is a developing story and will be updated.“
Hurricane Helene survivors know the drill too well. Over 100 died here in Western North Carolina last fall, over 40 in Buncombe County. Asheville Watchdog, “a free, local, not-for-profit” project of national journalists who retired here, published a long “Lives we lost” series.
Los Angeles news outlets are already preparing theirs and adding to them.
Two points.
A private drone flown in the vicinity of the Palisades Fire collided with one of two Canadian CL-415 Super Scooper firefighting planes, damaging its port wing and taking it out of action for repairs. CBS News reports:
California state officials said there have been at least 40 incidents where unauthorized drones have forced firefighters to pause air operations since the wildfires broke out last week. Crews battling the blazes have used air tankers to dump thousands of gallons of flame retardant, and super scoopers, as well as helicopters, to drop water over the blazes.
“When people fly drones near wildfires, fire response agencies often ground their aircraft to avoid the potential for a midair collision,” the FAA writes on its website. “Delaying airborne response poses a threat to firefighters on the ground, residents, and property in nearby communities, and it can allow wildfires to grow larger.”
Don’t be an idiot. You’ll also go to jail for it.
Secondly, Angelenos have to be worries (as we are here) that under a Trump administration disaster relief funding will quickly dry up. The costs will be in the hundreds of billions. Trump and MAGA Republicans in Congress enjoy seeing perceived opponents suffer (Mother Jones):
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Newsom told NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff that he is worried about Trump revoking the federal disaster aid that President Biden has promised California for the next 6 months—a threat that Trump, in fact, has made and carried out multiple times in the past.
“He’s done it in Utah. He’s done it in Michigan, did it in Puerto Rico. He did it to California back before I was even governor in 2018, until he found out folks in Orange County voted for him and then he decided to give the money,” Newsom said. “So he’s been at this for years and years and years. It transcends the states, including, by the way, Georgia he threatened similarly. So that’s his style.”
On multiple fronts, we feel you already, L.A.