Los Angeles evacuees told to stay away from home at least another week

Tens of thousands of people ordered to flee their homes as wildfires tore through Los Angeles were told Thursday they would not be allowed back for at least a week, with fears over electrocution, landslides and exposure to toxic materials.

Frustration is mounting among evacuees, who are angry over rules that prevent them from returning -- even to homes that survived the deadly blazes.

"There was a group chat where everyone was complaining, getting mad, saying, 'why do they keep on locking us out of our homes?'" Ronnen Miz told local broadcaster KTLA.

But with 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares) burned in two ferocious fires, the situation is just too dangerous, officials said.

Electricity, gas and sewage lines are wrecked, there is toxic waste everywhere, and there is a growing threat of hazardous mudslides or landslips, officials said at a news conference.

"It's going to be a while," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.

"I'm going to say at minimum, at least another week, and that's an estimate, but I believe it's going to be longer than that."

According to the latest coroner's tally, at least 27 people have died in wind-driven fires that ripped through the upmarket enclave of Pacific Palisades and the more mixed community of Altadena.

Luna said search teams were continuing to comb the rubble looking for victims, with the number of dead expected to rise.

Authorities were also holding people back from some areas "because we believe there may be deceased victims" he said.

Teams from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began inspections Thursday as they work to remove pesticides, fuel and lithium batteries from the wreckage before any debris clean-up can take place.

Los Angeles County Director of Public Works Mark Pestrella said apparently unaffected structures could be hit by landslides, and any substantial rain could be dangerous.

"In the event that we have major rain, we do expect that all of the street areas and all the communities will be impacted by debris flows that could be hazardous to human health."

Hillsides have been destabilized by the fires, and by the huge volumes of water that firefighters used in a bid to tame them.

Photographs from the Pacific Palisades area showed one home -- undamaged by the fire -- that appeared to have broken in two after the flames were extinguished when part of a hillside collapsed.

Gusting winds that have rattled the region for more than a week, spreading the fire over a wide area, had subsided Thursday, giving firefighters a much-needed boost as they mopped up hotspots.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/los-angeles-fire-evacuees-told-no-return-for-at-least-a-week-7492673