Los Angeles Gains Ground on Fires as Finger-Pointing Begins

(Bloomberg) -- Even as firefighters finally gained ground Friday on the blazes paralyzing Los Angeles, officials traded accusations that the city’s own actions had made the catastrophe worse. 

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley pointed the finger at city leaders for cutting her department’s budget, saying it hindered the firefight. 

“Yes, it was cut, and it did impact our ability to provide service,” she said in an emotional interview with local television station Fox 11. “They’re not getting what they need to do their jobs.” 

Mayor Karen Bass, who trimmed more than $17 million in funding to the fire department, defended her actions, saying the reductions came during “tough budgetary times” and didn’t impact the wildfire response. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom sent the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power a letter requesting a review of why hydrants in the fire zones repeatedly ran low on water. He pointed to a reservoir that the Los Angeles Times reported had been closed for repairs when the fires struck, calling the lack of water “deeply troubling to me and to the community.”

The Democratic governor also sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, who has criticized the state’s fire prevention efforts, asking him to come to Los Angeles.

The comments came as the number of homes destroyed and lives lost in the fire storm continued to rise. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office Friday afternoon listed 11 deaths, and officials have warned the total could grow as responders search through leveled neighborhoods.

After four days of an intense firefight pulling personnel from as far away as Quebec, crews began drawing lines of containment around the blazes that have upended life in America’s second-largest city. The Palisades Fire raging in the hills near Malibu is more than 21,000 acres and 8% contained, while the Eaton Fire that destroyed much of Altadena has burned just under 14,000 acres and is 3% contained. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is tracking four other smaller active wildfires in the area.

On Friday evening, a mandatory evacuation order was issued from Sunset Boulevard North to the Encino Reservoir and from the 405 Freeway West to Mandeville Canyon, a populated area that also includes the Getty Center.

The weekend could offer firefighters a brief but much-needed break. Winds gusts that at one point topped 80 miles (129 kilometers) per hour are expected to weaken as a larger weather pattern shifts. But another wind event is forecast for Sunday with no rain in sight, according to the National Weather Service.

“The winds have weakened across the LA basin, and that should help curb any further wildfire spread,” said Allison Santorelli, a forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center. “Things could ramp up again early next week.”

The scale of the destruction is becoming clearer. At least 10,000 structures, including homes and businesses, likely have been damaged or destroyed, fire officials said. 

The fires are the most devastating natural disaster to strike Los Angeles since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which killed 57 people. And they’re likely to rank among the costliest natural disasters in modern US history. The total damage and economic losses — which account for uninsured destruction and indirect economic impact such as lost wages and supply-chain disruptions — are estimated at $135 billion to $150 billion, according to AccuWeather Inc. 

If that figure holds, it would rival the $148 billion cost of the 23 worst wildfires since 1980 combined, according to US National Centers for Environmental Information records.

The fires also have put pressure on utilities that have preemptively cut electricity to residents. Edison International’s Southern California power company has been asked by attorneys representing insurance companies to preserve evidence in connection with the Eaton Fire, the second-largest blaze. 

No fire agency so far has suggested the utility’s electrical facilities were involved in an ignition, or requested the removal or retention of equipment, according to a company filing posted late Thursday with California regulators.

California has a history of devastating wildfires sparked by electric utility equipment during wind storms. The state’s largest utility, PG&E Corp., filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after a series of deadly blazes blamed on its wires.

About 184,600 California utility customers are still without power, according to Poweroutage.us.

Firefighters Friday rushed to stamp out new fires driven by the fading winds. The Kenneth Fire on the border of Ventura County was 35% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, while the Hurst Fire near San Fernando was 37% under control.

The fires continued to disrupt life across the metropolis of about 12 million. Schools closed, many streets were blocked. Residents worried about breathing air that, for the moment, was among the dirtiest in the world. Officials warned anyone living near a burn zone to boil water before drinking it, saying ash and debris had contaminated reservoirs.

Complicating those efforts, an evacuation alert that was intended only for residents in the area of the Kenneth Fire was mistakenly sent to 10 million people and then retracted, raising confusion and adding to tensions. County officials begged frustrated residents not to turn off the alerts, saying they could make the difference between life and death. 

Authorities arrested 20 people for burglary and looting in neighborhoods emptied of residents. Curfews were established for both the Palisades and Eaton fire zones, with the California National Guard helping enforce a curfew. 

(Updates with evacuation order in ninth paragraph)

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.