Los Angeles wildfires: A shocking video posted by a TikTok user reportedly claims that people are starting more fires in Los Angeles. A Daily Mail report stated that the video was posted by qxv.nyx on TikTok. The footage showed a conversation between two TikTokers who claimed they saw some people starting more fires near the 105 Freeway in California.
“They just did more,” can be heard in the video.
Additionally, other videos have been shared on social media, showing individuals starting fires in areas of Los Angeles that were not previously burned. One video captured the incident firsthand at 302 Pico in Santa Monica.
Fires in the Los Angeles area have caused widespread devastation, destroying around 12,000 buildings, claiming at least 11 lives, displacing thousands, and spreading over an area larger than the size of San Francisco. The LA County medical examiner's office said at least 11 have died, five from the Palisades Fire along the coast and six from the Eaton Fire inland. The financial damage could be the highest ever recorded, with AccuWeather estimating losses between $135 billion and $150 billion.
From celebrities losing their homes to cancelled premieres and halted productions, Hollywood came to a standstill because of these wildfires.
In addition to the destruction, concerns about looting and rising crime have prompted California Governor Gavin Newsom to deploy the National Guard to assist law enforcement. A nighttime curfew has been enforced in evacuated areas, and dozens of arrests have been made.
Amid the chaos, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for a probe into the “loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir”. “We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in an open letter.
US President Joe Biden warned that although the winds have died, they will remain a threat until next week.
In a post on X, he said, “Earlier the @VP and I received a briefing from @CAgovernor, @MayorOfLA, and @FEMA_Deanne. While the winds have died down, we expect they will remain a threat until early next week. We'll keep working 24/7 to support state and local officials to fully stop these fires.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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