I stand here today with uh incredible sympathy and concern
about the devastation and the tragedy that our city and
county are facing, and I definitely want to send
my condolences to the families who lost loved ones to
the families and neighborhoods who lost property. This firestone
firestorm is the big one in magnitude. Hurricane force
winds are usually accompanied by rainstorms, but these are
hurricane force winds that are combined with extremely dry drought
conditions. To provide context, at 10:20 p.m. a.m.
yesterday, the Palisades fire was at 10 acres.
12 minutes later it was at 200 acres. To
those who fled their homes, especially those who have
lost your homes, our hearts are breaking for you
, and we stand with you. I know the
world is looking at images of our city's devastation.
I have seen the front lines of the palisades fire
, and it is staggering. I've been in constant
contact with our fire commanders with county, state,
and federal officials. I took the fastest route back
which included being on a military plane which facilitated our
communications, so I was able to be on the
phone the entire time of the flight. We are
fighting for you and everyone in Los Angeles. Thank
you to our first responders who waited in the flames
, pulled people from cars, and got them to
safety no matter how dangerous, and thank you to
everyone who heeded our warnings to evacuate tonight more people
may get evacuation orders, and if they do,
please leave immediately. If you have an evacuation warning
, get ready to go. Protect yourself and each
other and support our firefighters on the front lines.
Our strategy included preparations and pre-deployment, and it now
includes fire crews from around the state and from our
federal partners. We are also adapting in real time
. These winds continue to blow. So let me
be clear, I am making sure that we leave
no resource untapped. Firefighters are now unseen from across
the state and across the country. I spoke with
President Biden today and Governor Newsom earlier today, and
they assured me of full federal and state support.
As we head into tonight, we are still facing
strong and erratic winds in palisades and in Silmar we
are very much in an active firefight. I can
report to you that the Woodley fire, however,
in the Sepulveda Basin is under control. I can
also report that finally air operations have resumed, and
that is a big deal, but it is up
to the winds as to how long the air support
can continue. But these conditions are highly volatile.
We've seen a devastating fire in the Pasadena area.
Fires have sparked up in Simi Valley and on the
LA and Ventura County line, and as our firefighters
do battle on the front lines, all of us
must be vigilant. So if you receive an evacuation
order, please leave immediately. If you receive a
warning, get ready, protect yourself and protect each
other and don't divert firefighters from our strategy. Signals
are out and the roads have debris so stay off
the roads unless you are evacuating or have another emergency
. Be prepared, food, water, medicine,
a bag packed and ready again. This is an
active situation and conserve water to the extent that you
can. We want to make sure that we are
ready if we need more water, but make no
mistake, Los Angeles will rebuild stronger than ever right
now if you need help, emergency information, resources
, and shelter is available. All of this can
be found at URL. Los Angeles together is how
we will get through this through the heroicism of our
firefighters, the vigilance of Angelenos, and the spirit
of our city. This is a big moment.
It is a big moment for all of us to
come together for Angelenos to be united for Angelenos to
be prepared to help each other. This is who
we are. LA will rise and make no mistake
, I am confident that we will rebuild.