Biden says California blaze is most devastating in state’s history

US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the blazes currently raging through the Greater Los Angeles area are the most devastating in the history of California.

“This is the most widespread devastating fire in California’s history,” said Biden, who only has a few days left in office. “360,000 people have been evacuated so far.”

The authorities in Greater Los Angeles are currently reluctant to comment on the exact death toll of the devastating fires in the region.

So far, six deaths have been reported.

“Based on all the information that I’ve received in the last probably eight hours, I want to be more confident in the specific information that I’m getting,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters on Thursday.

“So what we’re doing now is going back through everything, because you got to understand the urgency, the chaotic nature of what we’re dealing with, and we’re still in the middle of that,” he added.

Luna warned that it is important to be cautious using such figures, noting “that’s somebody’s family, that’s somebody we love and care for. So I want to make sure that’s solid before we start presenting that information.”

But he added that “unfortunately, I think the death toll will rise. I hope I’m wrong, but I think it’s going to rise.”

Several fires are currently raging in the region, the cause is still unknown. It has hardly rained at all for at least eight months in southern California. Trees and shrubs have dried up. Added to this are the seasonally typical strong Santa Ana winds, which drive the flames rapidly.

Although the “Sunset Fire” in the Hollywood Hills and the “Lidia Fire” have now been brought under control, two of the three major fires currently still raging are still completely out of control, according to authorities.

Particularly worrying is the forecast that the strong winds, which had initially subsided, looked set to pick up again on Thursday afternoon. This could fan the flames again and further complicate the extinguishing efforts.

A state of emergency has been declared, with more than 130,000 people ordered to evacuate or prepare to evacuate the area, Luna said earlier.

Thousands of emergency personnel are battling the inferno which has destroyed almost 2,000 buildings. Officials said more than 37,000 buildings in the region are threatened by the flames.

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