Multiple fires have engulfed over 16,000 acres, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Fire departments in Los Angeles have long had to deal with wildfires crouching close to homes and businesses.
But the ongoing Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire and Hurst Fire, which have engulfed over 16,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, have left first responders stretched thin, according to Anthony C. Marrone, the fire chief of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department.
“LA County and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster,” he said during a news conference Wednesday morning.
“The LA County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given the sustained winds and low abilities,” he added. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were wildfires burning in Los Angeles county, officials said.
Environmental experts who have studied wildfires in the region agreed — and noted that the fires’ unprecedented nature makes it extremely difficult to resolve on a moment’s notice.
“This particular event is a rare high-impact event,” Joshua Lee Pulsipher, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo, who has researched mitigating wildfires, told ABC News. “You could have a whole army of resources available but it would be at a great cost for something that may not be warranted.”
Still, experts said that fire department officials can take steps to mitigate and prevent severe damage and harm.
Pulsipher said that fire officials in the state have been observing the rise in wildfires during the last couple of years and doing data analysis, but the fires burning now were exacerbated by the high winds and historically dry land conditions.
