LA fires: California Governor Gavin Newsom orders investigation into water crisis as death toll rises to 11

The death toll in the devastating Los Angeles wildfires has climbed up to 11 as California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the investigation into claims about the shortage of water. The LA County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the recent toll, warning that the number could increase as the day passes.

Out of the 11, five of those deaths occurred due to the deadly Palisades fire, and the other six resulted from the Eaton fire. Officials maintained that cadaver dogs are investigating levelled neighbourhoods in search of bodies or survivors in the region. Five of those killed in Eaton have been identified by their respective families as of now.

The rampage and destruction caused by the wildfires are now being seen as the worst the city witnessed in recent history. The blaze which began on January 7 torched the second-largest American city, leading to the destruction of 10,000 structures. Roughly 150,000 Los Angeles County residents remain under evacuation orders. The authorities noted that the LA fires have already burned an area twice the size of Manhattan.

Newsom orders an investigation into the issue of low water pressure

California Governor Gavin Newsom said that he called for an independent investigation into the claims of the loss of water pressure to some fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir. In a letter to the LA Department of Water and Power Chief Janisse Quiñones and LA County Public Works Director Mark Pastrella, Newsom described the reports as “deeply troubling,” The Guardian reported.

“While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors,” he wrote. “We need answers to how that happened,” he added.

Both US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reacted to the devastating situation in California. Biden reiterated the warning that the death toll in the California wildfires is most likely to increase, comparing the devastation to a “war scene”. “It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” Biden said from the White House’s Oval Office during a briefing on the fires.

Meanwhile, Harris, who came from California herself said in the press briefing with Joe Biden and California governor Gavin Newsom that we are witnessing “mass devastation” and that the effect of the historic wildfires “is going to linger for quite some time.” “There are moments where we should find optimism in the heroism of people." she furthered.

It is pertinent to note that the state of California has witnessed several wildfires in recent years as the climate crisis makes blazes more frequent, more intense and less predictable. The worst wildfire California witnessed was in 2018 when the campfire eventually levelled the town of Paradise. 85 people lost their lives in the inferno and more than 18,000 structures were destroyed.

With inputs from agencies.