The Palisades Fire is headed toward the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood — a tony enclave crammed with multimillion-dollar mansions belonging to everyone from Veep Kamala Harris to LeBron James.
The posh ‘burb — also home to scores of Hollywood celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford and Dr. Dre — is the latest affluent community in the crosshairs of one of the worst disasters in California’s history.
The fire — one of several now in their sixth day — has so far incinerated nearly 24,000 acres, heavily contributed to the total death toll of 16 and destroyed more than 5,000 structures, many of them homes, causing untold billions of dollars in damage as it rips its way along the hilly coastline.
Although smoke-eaters from Utah, Texas, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and even Mexico have descended on the region to assist the overburdened and under-resourced LAFD, the blaze is just 11% contained, according to the latest official progress report.
Fire crews got a brief reprieve from the flame-fanning Santa Ana winds over the weekend, which slowed considerably from initial peaks of more than 100 mph. But gusts are expected to pick up speed as the new week begins, threatening progress in knocking down the historic inferno.
More than 150,000 Angelenos remain under evacuation orders between the Palisades and Eaton fires as of late Saturday afternoon, including throughout Brentwood.
Meanwhile, LA city leadership is grappling with its own internal firestorm.
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley publicly has excoriated Mayor Karen Bass for her ineffective leadership since the fires broke out Tuesday, telling Fox News affiliate KTTV on Friday that her embattled boss had failed the city’s firefighters and residents.
“We are screaming to be properly funded to make sure that our firefighters can do their jobs so that we can serve the community,” Crowley told the outlet.
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“Since Day One, we’ve identified huge gaps in regard to our service delivery and our ability of our firefighters’ boots on the ground to do their jobs.”
Crowley was then reportedly summoned to Bass’ office Friday afternoon, fueling speculation that the fire chief had been dismissed from her post, rumors the mayor later scoffed at when pressed by reporters.
Bass is facing immense criticism over the city’s alleged flailing response to the wildfires, enraging residents who have called for her ouster in a new Change.org petition, slamming her for “gross mismanagement” as the out-of-control conflagration rages on.
As of Sunday morning, more than 95,000 people had signed the online petition demanding she be immediately recalled.
