L.A. Wildfire Spreads Downtown for 5th Day...an escalation of tension

[Anchor]
As the U.S. wildfires continue to spread in LA, winds that have subsided somewhat are gaining momentum again, making it harder to extinguish them.

Tensions are rising again as forest fires on the beach turn and spread inland.

The death toll has also risen to 16.

Connect with a reporter to find out more about the news.

Reporter Park Young-jin, please tell us.

[Reporter]
Authorities in California and Los Angeles County said four wildfires in Los Angeles County were still underway as of 10 a.m. local time on the 11th.The damaged area of

also increased, and about 156.3㎢, more than a quarter of Seoul's area, was burned down.

Thousands of firefighters have been deployed to fight wildfires, but the main wildfire containment rate is still around 10%, with 11% for Palisades wildfires and 15% for Eaton wildfires.

The problem is the wind.

Strong winds are predicted in the L.A. area until next Wednesday, raising tensions over the spread of the flames.

The wildfire has so far reported 16 deaths and 13 missing, and the number of casualties is expected to increase further if the search proceeds.

Evacuation orders have also been issued for residents of the Getty Museum of L.A. attraction and the nearby Buchon Bel Air as the Pelissades wildfire veered east and spread inland.

In addition, the University of UCLA has decided to conduct online classes until the 17th, and has also announced that employees should work remotely.

To the east of UCLA is the famous rich town of Beverly Hills, where residents cannot be relieved.

As of Saturday, 150,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate in L.A. County, and 166,000 have been issued an "evacuation warning" to be ready to evacuate at any time.

In addition, more than 12,300 buildings were destroyed in the fire.

[Anchor]
As the scale of damage continues to grow, there are growing criticisms of the authorities' initial response?

[Reporter]
The city and water authorities have been criticized by public opinion after it was revealed that 20% of the fire hydrants of firefighters did not have water during the Palisades fire suppression on the 7th.

California Governor Gavin Newsom also instructed the authorities to determine why L.A.'s 440-million-liter reservoir was closed and empty at the time of the fire and why some fire hydrants ran out of water.

In particular, a public war of words erupted when the LA Fire Commissioner criticized the city for raising the situation by cutting the budget for firefighting activities and neglecting water shortages.

As the battle spread, citing personal history of the fire chief and the mayor, the mayor of LA eventually issued a statement to ease tensions, saying, "First of all, extinguishing wildfires is the most important thing."

In addition, a nighttime curfew has been imposed as looting to rob vacant houses or stores is rampant at the fire-damaged site.

More than 400 defense forces have been deployed to areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires, and more than 20 people have been arrested so far on charges of theft and looting curfew violations.

I'm Park Youngjin of YTN in the international department.


Video editing: Lee Young-hoon