AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
A health emergency because of air and water quality has been declared for residents living in Los Angeles County as firefighters continue to combat blazes that forced the evacuation of more than 150,000 people. More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed, and at least 16 deaths are being investigated, a number that officials say is likely to grow. Crews are making progress containing the fires, but some new areas were forced to evacuate this weekend. NPR's Greg Allen joins us now from Los Angeles. Welcome.
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So it's been almost a week since the two largest fires began, and now new evacuations have been ordered. Can you tell us more about that?
ALLEN: Yeah. Well, the new evacuations were ordered Friday as the wind-driven Palisades fire moved east into a new area in Mandeville Canyon. Crews worked throughout the day using planes and helicopters to drop water and fire retardant, but some homes burned in an area that, up to now, had escaped the fire. Winds are not as strong as they were earlier in the week when the fire started, but they're still moderate, with higher gusts. All that said, firefighters have made some progress containing both of the large fires, but a lot depends on the winds.
RASCOE: Information has been coming out slowly about the number of deaths and those reported missing. Why is that?
ALLEN: Well, you know, the teams that search for bodies really only started working yesterday. They're going through Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other burned areas with cadaver dogs, and they're proceeding cautiously. The causes of the fire aren't known yet, of course, but if arson is involved in either of them in which they're - and they're with ones that have fatalities, police say this could be a murder investigation.
RASCOE: Are residents being allowed back into any of the neighborhoods yet that were evacuated?
ALLEN: It depends on the location. The mandatory evacuations remain in place, but some police - some people are being allowed in at least temporarily to pick up medicine and other things, often with a police escort. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna was asked about that yesterday but said it's still vital that people heed the mandatory evacuation orders.
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ROBERT LUNA: Every miraculous story of a rescue or tragedies that we're encountering, the majority are people who did not heed the warning to leave or the order to leave.
ALLEN: But throughout the area, there are people who've defied the evacuation orders and remained behind to defend their homes against fires. In Altadena, the day after the fire passed through, Edgar Martinez (ph) was still hosing down his home's roof. He points to the lot next door, now just charred smoking ruins.
EDGAR MARTINEZ: This house caught on fire. Right there, my aunt's garage caught a little bit in the corner, but it was my uncle and, like, six other people just watering nonstop. Nonstop. I think if it wasn't for that, this would have been gone.
ALLEN: There are actually four homes on the property, all of which were saved from the fire. Early Wednesday morning, as the wildfire began spreading through their neighborhood, Juan Carlos Martinez (ph), his sons and other relatives began using hoses and power washers to keep the flames at bay. Manola Martinez (ph), Juan Carlos' son, posted the struggle live on his Instagram account.
MANOLA MARTINEZ: Here, my mom's house in Altadena, surrounding houses, they've been at it for - since 3 a.m. This is the neighbor's house. They had chickens. They're cooked. We're just making sure my mom's house doesn't catch on fire.
ALLEN: In the ruins next door, there are now just ashes where the chicken coop stood. The Martinez's say power washers help keep the houses soaked while embers floated through the neighborhood. They also scrambled to cut overhanging tree limbs and to take down a wooden fence that could have helped spread the blaze. Anna Martinez (ph) wasn't there during the fire. She evacuated with her youngest son to her sister's home in Anaheim. But she watched the battle on her son's live Instagram feed. She says the worst moment came when the tree next to her house caught fire.
ANNA MARTINEZ: I mean, I was scared throughout the whole thing, but when this one went up on fire, as you can see, it burned part of our house. But being that it was so wet, it didn't really do anything. But nothing inside the house, absolutely nothing happened to the inside of our house.
ALLEN: Martinez says neighbors next door also tried to fight the fire but gave up, and flames quickly took their house. On the other side, she says her husband and sons were able to soak the adjoining property, preserving that neighbor's house while also protecting her own. She says first responders helped some, but they weren't happy the Martinez's decided to stay.
A MARTINEZ: They came quite a few times and told us, you have to leave. And Juan Carlos, my husband, said, listen, I'm going to go down with the ship.
ALLEN: Juan Carlos says it wasn't just the fire. He and his sons also protected a neighbor's home from looters who broke in and were chased down before they took anything. There were times, though, while he was fighting the fire that he says he was tempted to quit.
JUAN MARTINEZ: I was ready, ready, ready to try to give up, but I love this tree here. I've seen this tree don't want do - catch on fire and attach to myself. If this tree don't want to die, I don't want to leave.
RASCOE: Wow. So what's expected for next week?
ALLEN: Well, officials are optimistic. They think firefighters will continue to make progress toward containment on these two fires, the two largest ones. But so much depends on the winds. According to the National Weather Service, a red flag warning is in effect through the middle of the week with 50 mph gusts higher and even larger gusts up on the mountains. The National Weather Service says LA may get a break at the end of the week, though, with some lighter winds, increased humidity and maybe even some light rain.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Greg Allen in Los Angeles. Thank you so much.
ALLEN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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