Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 10, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba TOP NEWS A3 FRIDAY JANUARY 10, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM At the command of Petit, they moved systematically from home to home, turning on sprinklers and providing updates by phone to concerned home- owners who’d fled to safety, said Elias. “I was doing things I didn’t know I could do,” she said, calling her boy- friend “a hero.” “We were just lucky to have a Winni- peg firefighter there, he knew exactly what to do.” At one point, Petit climbed onto the roof of a burning home and peeled back shingles to rain water down on the flames from above, she said. His efforts likely prevented the house from burning entirely, said Stone, who is friends with the home- owner. Petit, Elias and Stone remained in the area throughout the night, return- ing to safety soot-covered and exhaust- ed early Wednesday morning. Later that day, they learned the homes where they had been working remained standing. “That was awesome news to hear,” Petit said. “(Elias and Stone), they are the heroes in my mind. I was just help- ing out and doing my thing. Every oth- er firefighter, if they had the chance, they’d do the same thing.” All three expressed sympathy for those who suffered injuries, lost their lives or their homes as a result of the ongoing natural disaster. Petit is slated to return to Winnipeg today, and is scheduled for a shift with the WFPS Saturday. In the meantime, he is consulting with other homeowners in the area, offering advice on how to pre-emptive- ly prepare for evacuation and protect their homes, Stone said. “Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the devastating wildfires,” said United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg Local 867 president Nick Kasper, who spoke with Petit Thursday. “When it comes to Romeo, we are so proud of him. We are thankful he is safe. It’s accurate in saying his actions literally made the difference and saved this community … he’s a fantastic person, a great guy and his actions em- body what it means to be a firefighter.” Petit said he plans to explore ways to continue assisting in the California fire efforts once he returns home. The WFPS is not currently involved in any organized response to the Cali- fornia fires, and had not received any requests for assistance as of Thursday, a spokesperson said. tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca FIREFIGHTER ● FROM A1 SUPPLIED WFPS Lt. Romeo Petit New L.A.-area fire prompts more evacuations as officials say more than 10,000 structures have burned ‘Total devastation and loss’ L OS ANGELES — A new fire prompted evacuations Thursday in and around Los Angeles even as firefighters, aided by calmer winds, saw the first signs of successfully beat- ing back the region’s deadly and devas- tating wildfires, while the enormity of the devastation started to emerge. The fast-growing Kenneth Fire start- ed in the late afternoon in the San Fer- nando Valley near the West Hills neigh- bourhood and close to Ventura County. The evacuation order covered parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The orders came as Los Angeles County officials announced the Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tues- day night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, out- buildings and vehicles. To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed over 5,300 struc- tures. Between the Eaton and Palisades fires, more than 10,000 structures have burned. All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the Los Angeles area are located in a roughly 25-mile (40-kilometre) band north of downtown. The Kenneth blaze ignited less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) away from the El Camino Real Charter High School, where people are sheltering from the fire in Palisades. The two fires are about 10 miles (18 kilometres) apart. Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Mal- ibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where ocean- front homes once stood. At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were lost. So too were the Will Rogers’s Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned. AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its esti- mate of the damage and economic loss to US$135-$150 billion. City leaders were encouraged Thurs- day after firefighters made significant gains at slowing the spread of the two biggest fires that had ignited block af- ter block from Pacific Palisades to in- land Altadena, a community near Pasa- dena. Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills, allowing an evacu- ation to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked up late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue. “While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide is turning,” Los Angeles County Super- visor Kathryn Barger said Thursday. Water dropped from aircraft helped fire crews quickly seize control of the fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. Much of the widespread destruc- tion occurred Tuesday after those air- craft were grounded due to high winds. Wind gusts were expected to strengthen Thursday evening through this morning, with another round of strong winds expected early next week, raising concerns that the conditions could worsen, the National Weather Service said. But Thursday’s daytime forecast provided a window for firefighters — including crews pouring in from neigh- bouring states and Canada — to make progress in reining in blazes that have killed at least seven people and caused thousands of people to flee their homes. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said firefighters were able to keep the Hollywood Hills blaze in check because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us.” Fire officials said Thursday that they don’t yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating. Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds with gusts up to 80 m.p.h. (129 km/h) blew embers, igniting the South- ern California hillsides. Right now, it’s impossible to quan- tify the extent of the destruction other than “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Com- merce. “There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said. Of the seven deaths so far, Los An- geles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley con- firmed two were in Pacific Palisades. Cadaver dogs and search crews are searching through rubble and the death toll is expected to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old am- putee, and his son, Justin, who had ce- rebral palsy, were waiting for an ambu- lance to come, but they did not make it out, Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post. Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand. On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from the rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained. While the two main fires were no longer spreading significantly, both re- mained at zero per cent containment, officials said. At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometres) — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los An- geles’ history. At least 20 arrests have been made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew Wednesday night be- cause of the lawlessness, officials said. Luna said to protect properties national guard troops would be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m., expected to start im- mediately. Flames destroyed the homes of sev- eral celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton. Jamie Lee Curtis pledged US$1 mil- lion to start a “fund of support” for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels from the city’s wealthy to its working class. California’s wildfire season is begin- ning earlier and ending later due to ris- ing temperatures and decreased rain- fall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Ana winds, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimetres) of rain since early May. Robert Lara sifted through the re- mains of his home in Altadena on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a set of ear- rings that once belonged to his great- great-grandmother. “All our memories, all our sentiment- al attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to gener- ation are now gone,” he said. — The Associated Press CHRISTOPHER WEBER, JULIE WATSON AND JOHN SEEWER ETHAN SWOPE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Just as firefighters started to make progress in the Los Angeles wildfires, the new Kenneth Fire sprang up on Thursday. WALLY SKALIJ / LOS ANGELES TIMES A house on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu is reduced to rubble as the Palisades Fire made its way to the ocean. ;