Two Los Angeles County wildfires that spready with alarming speed in a powerful Santa Ana windstorm are among the five most destructive fires on record in California.
The Palisades Fire near the LA County coast and the Eaton Fire in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles started Tuesday in extreme wind conditions that firefighters described as some of the worst they've ever encountered. Fanned by gusts of 60 mph to 80 mph, flames destroyed entire neighborhoods and burned businesses to the ground in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
The Palisades Fire has destroyed 5,316 structures as of Friday morning, making it the third most destructive wildfire on record in California. Estimated at nearly 20,000 acres, the fire was 6-pecent contained Friday morning.
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"It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles," said LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley.
In the foothills above the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles, the deadly Eaton Fire has destroyed more than 4,000 structures. It is the fourth-most destructive wildfire on record in the fire-prone state, where topography and terrain combined with strong winds to whip flames for four consecutive days.
The Eaton Fire was estimated at about 13,700 acres Friday morning with no containment.
The most destructive wildfire in California history is the devastating November 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County. The fire sparked by downed powerlines destroyed 18,804 structires and resulted in 85 deaths, according to Cal Fire.
The second-most destructive fire is the October 2017 Tubbs Fire, also an electrical-related wildfire. Flames destroyed 5,636 structures in the fire that burned in Napa and Sonoma counties north of the Bay Area.
The Eaton and Palisades fire are among six wildfires burning Friday morning in Los Angeles County, where a red flag warning remains in effect. Ten deaths have been reported in connection with the fires.
Details about how the fires started were not available early Friday.
