L.A. Wildfire Fears Spread due to Strong Winds...Firecrackers for the New Year?

[Anchor]
A red alert has been issued as another strong wind is predicted locally as wildfires continue to hit Los Angeles, the largest city in the western United States.

There was also a possibility that the firecracker firework for the New Year was the cause of the wildfire.

Reporter Kim Sun-joong reports.

[Reporter]
The red flames come up fiercely over the residential area.

Fire helicopters keep spraying water, but it's not enough to control the flames spreading in strong winds.

The house that was swept away by the fire leaves only the ruins.

[Lydia / LA resident] I want to see my house. We've lived for 30 years, and everything is gone. I lost everything.]

Due to the lack of fire water, even seawater is drawn and used, but extinguishing work is still slow.

L.A. County Fire Department says extinguishing operations remain in the 10% range.

The bigger problem is that strong winds are forecast this week right now.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued a red alert, saying gusts of up to 80 kilometers per hour and even up to 113 kilometers per hour on the mountains would reach the 15th.

[Anthony C. Marrone / Los Angeles County Fire Chief: The (pre-announced) strong winds, combined with low humidity, will increase the fire threat very high across Los Angeles County.]

In the midst of this, it has been argued that the U.S. L.A. wildfire may be due to the aftermath of fireworks on New Year's Day.

The Washington Post reported that a comparison of satellite images shows the location of the wildfire site on New Year's Day and where the wildfire started.

In fact, a forest fire broke out northeast of Felise at dawn on the 1st, burning 10,000 square meters of bush and extinguishing it in four hours.

Fire experts pointed out, "If it didn't rain in the meantime, the flames of the existing fire could remain and ignite again by strong winds."

I'm Kim Sun-joong of YTN.