(NewsNation) — Los Angeles City Council member Traci Park said the scenes in her Pacific Palisades community are “apocalyptic.”
“It’s grief. It’s exhaustion,” Park said during an appearance on “The Hill.” “The scenes are catastrophic. It’s hard to get your head around the devastation and the loss. There is still active fire burning all over the town. Our firefighters are actively working on suppression efforts and continuing to try to protect lives and what’s left of properties.”
The Palisades Fire in western Los Angeles, the Eaton Fire near Altadena and the Hurst/Sylmar Fire near Santa Clarita are all at 0% containment as of Wednesday evening. The death toll from the wildfires has risen to five, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Officials have said more than 80,000 people are under evacuation orders because of all the fires.
Click here to view the LAPD’s interactive evacuation zone map.
An estimated thousand structures have been destroyed.
President Joe Biden has quickly approved California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support ongoing response efforts related to the major wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area.
Park praised the firefighters’ “absolutely heroic” efforts but emphasized that they cannot manage the situation alone.
“We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support we’ve had from LA County and Cal Fire as well as our neighboring cities and counties,” Park said.
When asked if the city is prepared to recover, Park added, “We’re not going to be able to do the long recovery that’s necessary without all layers of government, all hands on deck.”
NewsNation’s Safia Samee Ali and Anna Kutz contributed to this report.
