Firefighters hoped for a break Friday from 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.
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 for the largest fires.
The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that has grown used to massive wildfires. Dozens of blocks of scenic Pacific Palisades were flattened to smoldering rubble. In neighboring Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.
And new blazes have continued to crop up. On Thursday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire started in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire. It moved into neighboring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.
Only hours before the fire roared to life officials said they were encouraged after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from out-of-state crews saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s two devastating wildfires.
