California rep warns Los Angeles fires could be 'worst disaster in California's history'
California Rep. Ami Bera (D) said the fires raging across parts of Los Angeles could be the state’s worst disaster in history.
Bera joined NewsNation’s "The Hill" on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing fire and the briefing the California delegation received from the Office of Emergency Services.
“It’s horrific and tragic and our hearts go out to all the folks that are affected,” he said. “This may be the worst disaster in California’s history certainly as it unfolds.”
Bera said he and other California lawmakers are standing ready to help with emergency aid “not just to put out the fire” but for the recovery afterward.
“This is going to take months and years of recovery, so we’ve got to come together now as not Democrats or Republicans, but as a country and a state to help reduce this devastation,” Bera said.
The California Democrat said he learned in the briefing that firefighters and emergency services understood strong winds were coming, but it was a “perfect confluence of events” to create the devastation.
The Palisades Fire, which is burning west of Los Angeles, has burned about 18 square miles as of Wednesday evening. The Eaton Fire, which is north of Pasadena, has burned about 16 square miles, and the Hurst Fire in the San Fernando Valley is nearing 1 square mile, The Associated Press reported.
At least 70,000 residents are under evacuation orders, and footage shared online showed rows of scorched homes burned to the ground.
Bera praised the firefighters who helped evacuate people in the Palisades area, which he said has winding roads.
He said it’s a testimony to the first responders that there have only been a few reported deaths so far.
“The winds may die down within the next 24 hours and hopefully that’s the case,” Bera said.
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