California adds another fire to deal with

 Red State:

If you can believe it, the catastrophic Palisades fire that ignited on January 7 and destroyed huge swaths of the beautiful Pacific Palisades area, leaving 11 dead, is still burning. It has burned over 23,400 acres, and according to the excellent app Watch Duty, it’s 70 percent contained.

Meanwhile, the Eaton fire that torched Altadena and burned 14,021 acres, taking the lives of 17 people, is also still going, though it’s now listed at 95 percent contained.

Are we out of the woods yet? Unfortunately, no, as yet another huge fire started Wednesday and is currently raging around Castaic Lake to the Northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It grew extraordinarily quickly, and it is now at 9,457 acres with only five percent containment. The crucial Interstate 5 had to be closed in both directions for a period, but it's currently open again.

As with the other fires, the scenes are absolutely apocalyptic:
Luckily, no structures have been burned so far, nor injuries reported.
Rain is forecast for this weekend, and it can’t come soon enough, although that brings a possible new danger to the equation—mudslides. Meanwhile, the wind continues to howl, making the efforts of the firefighters that much more difficult.
...

Southern California desperately needs rain.  Its other resources for stopping the fires are clearly inadequate at this point.  Apparently, they are unable to use sea water at this time.

See also:

Newsom Vetoed a Bill to Enhance Fire Mitigation So He Could Grab the Land for Affordable Housing

And:

 Scores of looters, burglars arrested for hitting empty homes near L.A. wildfires

More than 100 people have been arrested over the past two weeks on charges related to the Los Angeles wildfires, including dozens of opportunistic looters and burglars.

Los Angeles authorities said at least one thief dressed as a firefighter and others used phone apps to monitor evacuated neighborhoods as deadly blazes ripped through the nation’s most populous county.

Criminals made off with high-end goods after ransacking swanky homes. Police said three burglars working together were arrested with six figures worth of stolen property. Other thieves were caught with entertainment industry awards in their arms.
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