L.A. Fire Chief Says There Is Not Enough Personnel to Handle Fires: ‘We’re Doing the Best We Can’
"The L.A. County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four,” L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said
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Firefighter battling blaze in Pacific Palisades neighborhoodAs the Pacific Palisades wildfires continue to ravage the area, the Los Angeles County fire chief confirmed there is not enough staff on hand to control the blazes.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 8, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone provided an update on the status of the wildfires that have resulted in the deaths of two people and the evacuation of at least 30,000 residents. At the conference, he said the city does not have enough personnel to handle the evolving situation on its own.
“No, L.A. County, and all 29 fire departments in our county, are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster. There are not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude,” Marrone said.
The fire chief continued, “We’re doing the very best we can, but no we don’t have enough fire personnel.”
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Palisades Fire on Jan. 7Marrone continued, adding that the fire department was not prepared for multiple wildfires at once given staffing.
“We were prepared. We did get state preposition resources that came from Northern California that were up in the Santa Clarita Valley. We did hire additional firefighters from the L.A. County Fire Department and prepositioned them in the Santa Monica Mountains," he said, before adding, "The LA County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given the sustained winds and low humidities."
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Palisades Fire on Jan. 7Marrone also confirmed that the two people who died during the Eaton fire were civilians and their causes of death are currently unknown at this time, according to CBS News and NBC News.
The five wildfires that are currently burning include the largest fire in the Pacific Palisades — that has burned more than 11,000 acres of land since it began on Tuesday, Jan. 7., according to CalFire.
The Eaton fire has burned over 10,000 acres of land, followed by the Hurst fire at more than 500 acres and the Woodley and Olivas fires which have burned around 50 acres. All five fires were at 0% containment as of Wednesday afternoon.
Farther north is the Hurst Fire is farther north and 500 acres in size with 0% containment that began at 10:30 p.m. and lastly, the Tyler Fire, currently burning west of L.A. near Coachella. That 15-acre fire is 50% contained.
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