A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Earlier this week, an LA Fire spokesperson underlined a reality of fighting wildfires - as long as winds are blowing through dry parts of Southern California, there's very little fire crews can do.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Now they have a break. The Santa Ana winds have let up a little bit, slowing the spread and letting air crews dump water from overhead, so we can assess. At least 10 people have died, and thousands of structures have been destroyed in Pacific Palisades and other communities like the one we will hear about now. Altadena is a little inland in the foothills to the east of LA.
MARTÍNEZ: And that is where NPR's Greg Allen has been reporting. Greg, you spent the day yesterday talking to people in Altadena. What are they telling you?
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Well, A, as you know, Altadena is a wooded community with a lot of older bungalows. And this is where the Eaton fire has left many of the homes just smoldering, blackened ruins. Teandra Pitts' home caught fire and was heavily damaged before fire crews extinguished it.
TEANDRA PITTS: It's burned down. It's not livable. Look at all this. Who could live here like this?
ALLEN: No, no.
PITTS: And I'm asthmatic, and I have a compromised loan.
ALLEN: I spent the day yesterday with Pitts. You know, she was evacuated after her house caught fire, and the one next door burned to the ground. Her three kids are staying with family members, but she spent that night in her car. Yesterday, she was back with friends, removing whatever she could from the house.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, we've heard that at least 20 people have been arrested for looting. Did you hear about that from people in Altadena?
ALLEN: Yes. Teandra Pitts said she was shocked when she returned home and found that her front door had been kicked in. When she went inside, many of her things were gone, and things were just tossed everywhere.
PITTS: Look - shoes, purses.
ALLEN: And they just pulled everything out and took stuff.
PITTS: They take everything. We seen them doing it. How do you take that from somebody who already have enough disaster?
ALLEN: Looters took her son's sneaker collection. They left the boxes everywhere. They even took her washer and dryer. We talked to other residents who stayed in the neighborhood, and they told us that they chased off looters. LA's sheriff has promised a crackdown on looting, and communities now are imposing curfews throughout the area.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow. Now, let's get to the big picture. I mean, how many fires is LA dealing with right now?
ALLEN: Well, there are several, with numbers changing all the time. The biggest concerns remain the Eaton Fire. Although it's stopped growing in size, crews still have zero containment on it. The other big one is the Palisades fire, the one that destroyed much of Pacific Palisades. Officials have made progress there and have started to contain that fire, and we've had deaths in both of those. Yesterday, in the north part of the county, the Kenneth fire quickly expanded, which caused additional evacuations.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Now, here's the kind of ugly part of this in that politics have injected their way into the story. President-elect Trump has criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom, saying that he should have done more to get water flowing to help put out the fires. What's the response been to that in Los Angeles?
ALLEN: Well, you know, a lack of water was a major problem for firefighters combating the Palisades blaze on Tuesday and Wednesday. After hours of responding, the water pressure dropped, and hydrants no longer had water. Fire crews used pumper trucks to draw water from reservoirs and fight fires that way. But it's led to big questions, not just from Trump but also from people who saw their homes burn. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was asked about the issue yesterday.
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KAREN BASS: You asked me, was I frustrated by this? Of course, because we all know that this has been an unprecedented event. We also know that fire hydrants are not constructed to deal with this type of massive devastation.
ALLEN: President Biden has even weighted in, saying he talked to Governor Newsom about the issue. Biden says when electricity was shut off in some areas to avoid more fires, that led some pumping stations to be left without power. Biden said Newsom assured him that generators are being deployed to make sure that this won't be a problem going forward.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Greg Allen in Los Angeles. Greg, thanks.
ALLEN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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