Smoke and flames overwhelm a commercial area during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, California on January 8, 2025. At least five people are now known to have died in wildfires raging around Los Angeles, with more deaths feared, law enforcement said January 8, as terrifying blazes leveled whole streets, torching cars and houses in minutes. Photo: VCG

More than 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been damaged or destroyed and at least five people are dead in wildfires scorching communities across Los Angeles County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The five bodies were found in three structures in Altadena, where the Eaton fire exploded Tuesday night, giving residents little time to flee. It is estimated that more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed in the Palisades fire and another 1,000 either damaged or destroyed in the Eaton fire, according to the LA County Fire Department.

At least five fires are burning, sparked by dry conditions and powerful winds, prompting mandatory evacuations of more than 100,000 people, according to NBC news. Some firefighters are hindered by low water pressure and out-of-service hydrants. Some aerial water drops are underway.

According to the Associated Press, the US President Joe Biden on Wednesday cancelled the final overseas trip of his presidency just hours before he was set to depart for Rome and the Vatican, choosing to remain in Washington to monitor the response to devastating fires raging in California.

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles on Wednesday reminded local Chinese citizens in Southern California to prioritize personal and property safety and take precautions against wildfire disasters.

California Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday to support communities affected by the fires, according to the California government official website. 

The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that President Biden, shortly after receiving a briefing on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, shared the news of becoming a great-grandfather. "The good news is, I'm a great-grandfather as of today," Biden reportedly said at a Santa Monica firehouse.

The president's announcement appeared to land awkwardly in the room. Biden had just received status updates from the region's top public safety officials on the fires, which continue to rage as some of LA's most destructive blazes in recent memory, New York Times commented.

President-elect Donald J Trump on Wednesday blamed California's Democratic governor for the failure to contain fires engulfing parts of the Los Angeles area, accusing the state's government of letting environmental policies run amok, said the New York Times.

Trump later wrote on his social media account on Thursday that "One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. lt's ashes, and Gavin Newsom should resign. This is all his fault!!!"

According to the New York Post, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced scorching criticism Wednesday for cutting the city's Fire Department budget by $17.6 million while allocating unspent funds toward addressing homelessness.

The cut was the second largest in Bass' 2024-25 fiscal budget, city figures show - and it wasn't even the gutting she wanted. If she had it her way, the LAFD budget would have been slashed by $23 million, the New York Post reported.

As the wild fire is raging in Southern California, the US is expected to announce $500 million in military aid for Ukraine on Thursday at a final gathering of President Joe Biden's weapons pledging conferences, Reuters reported.

The repeated wildfires in California underscore the US federal government's loopholes to address key issues, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday. The US governance system itself has significant issues, while politicians tend to prioritize international agendas over domestic concerns.

At a time when domestic problems in the US are piling up, the government spends vast sums to aid Ukraine. This lays bare the geopolitical consideration of Washington, which ignores domestic woes, Li added.