Fire hell in Los Angeles claims more and more lives - now Donald Trump is supposed to help
By Anna Ringle and Christiane Jacke
Los Angeles (USA) - At least 16 people have died in the devastating fires in Los Angeles . So far, the coroner's office was aware of eleven deaths - yesterday, Saturday, the authorities added five more victims to the list.
The second-largest city in the USA fears even more fires in the coming days due to new winds. Meanwhile, there are increasing calls for a visit and support from future US President Donald Trump (78).
It is still unclear how many people died in the flames. It was not possible for the emergency services to enter all areas - the danger from the fire disaster in the region on the US west coast in California is too great.
The coroners attribute the five new confirmed deaths to the second-largest fire, the Eaton Fire near Pasadena. In total, at least eleven people have died in the area. In the even larger Palisades Fire in the Palisades district, there were five, as before.
More than 12,300 buildings have been destroyed or damaged, according to the fire protection authority Cal Fire. Since Tuesday, almost 155 square kilometers of land have gone up in flames - that's about one and a half times the area of the island of Sylt. Los Angeles and the region are used to fires, but not on this massive scale.
Politicians in California demand visit from Donald Trump
Kathryn Barger from the administrative district of Los Angeles appealed to Trump to take a look at the immense damage. She posted a letter to the Republican, who will take over from President Joe Biden (82) on January 20, on the X platform.
Barger, who is also a Republican, also wrote in the invitation that she was looking forward to working with the new administration with a view to rebuilding in and around Los Angeles in the coming years. She asked Trump to stand by the people. She referred to a visit during his last term in office, when Los Angeles also had to deal with fires.
The Democratic governor of the state of California, Gavin Newsom (57), had previously sent a letter to the future US president inviting him to see the extent of the fires in person.
Trump had attributed responsibility for the extent of the fires to Newsom - among other things, he criticized his water-saving measures. Newsom countered that human tragedies should not be politicized.
Meanwhile, the White House announced on the X platform that US President Biden had spoken to officials about the current situation. His team also informed him how federal funds could help and how additional support could be provided to survivors.