California on fire. Despite the enormous efforts of the firefighters, the situation shows no signs of improvingso much so that President Biden was forced in recent days to cancel his visit here to Italy to better monitor the relief efforts. A few hours ago the collision between a Canadair dedicated to putting out fires and a drone forced the former to make an emergency landing, depriving the city of one of the only two planes available for this purpose.
The emergency risks becoming one of the greatest disasters in recent American history. To give a sense of the gravity of the situation, just think that the American football match between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, valid for the NFL playoffs, will be played on Monday in Arizona, considering the sacredness that the American football plays in the USA, the fact is very illustrative of the gravity of the situation.
Five fires are raging through Los Angeles County, hitting some of the richest areas not only of the city but of the entire country. Malibu, Santa Monica, Altadena, Pacific Palisades and even the famous Hollywood Hills, all areas affected (some more or less) by devastating fires. The city authorities have ordered the evacuation of 180 thousand people from the areas most affected by the fires.
The Los Angeles Times speaks of ten victims and more than 9000 structures damaged and destroyedfor what could become the costliest fire disaster in U.S. history. We have already talked about the causes of these terrible fires, while in the meantime, according to estimates by New York Timesthe damages are estimated at no less than 57 billion dollars, probably destined to rise, given the persistence of the flames and the difficulties in containing them.
While Los Angeles is struggling to put out the flames, many are wondering why, in an area with a strong “fire risk” like Lower California, the budget for Los Angeles Fire Department (the city firefighters) has been reduced by $17.5 million for the current year. Adding insult to injury, in short, aggravated by the withdrawal of thousands of insurance covers carried out by the largest companies on properties in Pacific Palisadesone of the most damaged neighborhoods.
While the fires continue, fire departments arrived in Los Angeles today National Guard California, to ensure compliance with the curfew imposed by the authorities and prevent the already numerous cases of looting.
