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When wildfires roared to life around Los Angeles, Janell Gruss had to leave immediately. But as the manager of a stable with 25 horses and other animals, she knew it was going to be complicated.While some people just got in their cars and drove out of the danger zone, Gruss had to wrangle more than two dozen frightened horses, as embers swirled in 100-mile (160-kilometer) -an-hour winds.”The last horse we had to get out of the barn… it was pretty bad,” Gruss told AFP at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, where hundreds of animals have been brought this week.”It was very smoky. It was dark. I couldn’t see where I was,” she recalled. “Both the horse and I were tripping over things, branches, whatever was on the ground.”Gruss said coralling the animals was so challenging, she feared at one point she might not make it out alive.”I thought I might have been one of those casualties,” she said, as tears rolled down her face.”You hear about the person that goes in to get the last horse and doesn’t come out.”More than 150,000 people have been forced from their homes by the huge blazes tearing through the city in a tragedy that has killed at least 16 people and changed the face of Los Angeles forever.With so many people ordered to get out of the way of the advancing wildfires and needing to take their animals with them, capacity is strained. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Jennie Nevin, director of communications for the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. “The first night was very busy and chaotic. Lots of people coming from all over.”- ‘A whirlwind’ -Dozens of people milled around the barns Saturday at the equestrian center, where donkeys, pigs and ponies have also found shelter.Tarah Paige, a professional stuntwoman, had brought her three-year-old daughter to visit their pony Truffles and her miniature cow Cuddles — a TV star in her own right who has appeared on several programs.”It’s been a whirlwind,” said Paige, for whom the equestrian center has been an oasis in the midst of an unimaginable catastrophe.Nevin says there has been an outpouring of support and people offering their services to help care for the menagerie.”It really takes a village,” she said. “It takes the community.”Across the Los Angeles sprawl there are activists, veterinarians and volunteers working to rescue and care for animals made homeless in the tragedy, including some that were injured.The Pasadena Humane Society received about 400 animals from Altadena, where the flames have already consumed more than 14,000 acres (5,600 hectares). One of their patients is a five-day-old puppy that was found in the ruins of a building, its ears burned.Annie Harvilicz, founder of the Animal Wellness Center, says she has hardly slept a wink all week.As the fire spread through the upmarket Pacific Palisades, Harvilicz posted on Facebook that she was happy to take in animals.The post “exploded,” she said, and dogs, cats and even a rabbit began arriving. With flames still raging out of control, the calls for help have not stopped.But, she thinks, even when the firefighters have quelled the blaze, the slow-motion tragedy will roll on.”There’s gonna be more pets found, more pets injured, with smoke inhalation and burns that we’re gonna start to discover as some of the fire recedes,” she said.”This is just the beginning.”

With its focus on innovative products and cutting-edge technology, the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has not historically paid much attention to energy companies.But there were signs of a shift at this year’s Las Vegas event, as the tech sector begins to confront its substantial energy needs, which are certain to grow as cloud computing and artificial intelligence advance.”If you’d asked me to do CES five years ago, I wouldn’t necessarily have seen the point,” said Sebastien Fiedorow, chief executive of the French start-up Aerleum, which manufactures synthetic fuel from carbon dioxide (C02).”But we are in a very different CES than five years ago,” he told AFP, adding that even if energy companies remain “on the fringes” of CES, “we’re here.”  “It’s a good first opportunity,” he added.Data centers accounted for 4.4 percent of US electricity needs in 2023, a figure that is likely to rise to 12 percent by 2028, according to the US Department of Energy.  Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes CES, said energy transition was intended to be “a big focus” of this year’s show. “It’s something we’ve talked about for awhile,” he added, stressing that the tech sector needs “innovative solutions” to ensure it has the power it requires moving forward. – ‘Not the most sexy’ -Among the companies pitching such innovation at CES, which wrapped up on Friday, was the Dutch firm LV Energy, which generates electricity from sound and vibrations. General director Satish Jawalapersad said the company’s presence at the show was noteworthy. “The fact that we’re here with the CES does say something, definitely,” he told AFP. But LV Energy didn’t mention artificial intelligence in its presentation, which he said likely suppressed interest, with AI being “the magic word,” at CES. “Maybe we’re not the most sexy… because we don’t say those words,” he told AFP.Other energy firms also acknowledged a struggle to break through. DataGreen, another French company, aims to build smaller, greener data centers that run on renewable power, saving tech companies money by reducing data storage costs. Cloud computing giants have so far shown no interest, said DataGreen’s head of AI, Julien Choukroun. “For now, they don’t see the point (in partnering with DataGreen) but we’re trying to convince them,” Choukroun said. The company won an innovation award at CES this year, its first appearance at the show, and Choukroun argued its services are essential. “We can’t continue to increase the hangar space (of data centers),” he said, stressing the land available to house sprawling storage sites “is not infinite.”He voiced confidence that once Big Tech realizes DataGreen offers cost savings, that will “be more persuasive than the ‘green'” aspect. – Changing mindsets -Jordan Huyghe, product manager at the French company Otrera, which designs small nuclear reactors, said a major change in the relationship between tech and the energy sector will require investment from giants like Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Amazon is already the world’s largest purchaser of renewable energy.In September, Microsoft signed a deal with Constellation Energy to reopen the Three Mile Island power plant in the US state of Pennsylvania, the scene of a devastating nuclear meltdown in 1979.Energy from the plant will power Microsoft data centers. Solutions, Huyghe said, can come from companies big enough to fund them.”To move forward on projects like these, you need to raise money,” he said. While interest remains muted for smaller players, Jawalapersad of LV Energy said his company has “numerous leads” in the United States. Fiedorow of Aerleum said there was no doubt the tech sector’s focus on energy is growing. “We produce fuel and work on a technology that is pretty far removed from the focus of the Consumer Electronics Show,” he said. Aerleum’s presence in Las Vegas “shows that the mindset is changing.”

Health bosses warned people living in Los Angeles on Saturday to stay indoors because of dangerous wildfire smoke wreathing the area.Monster blazes tearing through America’s second largest city are pumping toxic clouds into the air, blanketing a vast region with choking fumes.”We are all experiencing this wildfire smoke, which is a mix of small particles, gasses and water vapors,” Anish Mahajan of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health told a press conference.”It’s those small particles that get into our noses and throats and cause those sore throats and headaches.”Everyone in the areas where there’s visible smoke or the smell of smoke, and even where you don’t see that, we know that the air quality is poor, so you should limit outdoor exposure as much as possible.”Mahajan said even healthy individuals should stay inside as much as possible, using some kind of air filtration system.People who have to work outside should wear an N95 mask, which filters out small particles to stop them entering the body.But the young, the old and the sick should be especially careful at this time.”Those who are at higher risk for bad health effects… children, the elderly, those with respiratory and heart conditions, and people with immunocompromised states, they may have worse symptoms like shortness of breath, wheezing, cough and chest pain,” he said.Multiple fires that have erupted around Los Angeles have laid waste to vast areas, reducing homes, businesses, cars and vegetation to ash.That means plastics, chemicals, fuel and building materials all went up in smoke, and now hang in the air across a densely populated region.On Friday, Los Angeles County declared a public health emergency because of the smoke, and banned the use of machines like leaf blowers that can whip up dangerous ashes.

Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to investigate Donald Trump for his alleged effort to overturn results of the 2020 election, has left the US Department of Justice, prosecutors said Saturday in a court filing.”The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10,” officials said in the document submitted to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, urging her to not extend her order last week blocking the release of Smith’s final report.The statement on Smith was a footnote in the filing to Cannon as she mulls whether to maintain a hold on the special counsel’s report on two cases: Trump’s role in the January 6, 2020 insurrection at the US Capitol aimed at halting certification of Joe Biden’s victory, and the case of Trump’s withholding of classified documents after he left the White House.With the hold set to expire in the coming days, and Cannon considering an extension, the protracted legal fight over the report on Trump-related cases is coming down to the week or so before he is inaugurated as America’s 47th president on January 20. Smith had accused Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, the session of Congress called to certify Biden’s election win but which was violently attacked on January 6 by a mob of the Republican leader’s supporters.Smith dropped the cases against Trump after he won November’s presidential election.On January 7, the special counsel finalized his confidential report to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, and the Justice Department said this week that Garland plans to publicly release the findings.Department officials have argued that Cannon does not have the power to block the attorney general from releasing Smith’s report.

The largest of the Los Angeles fires spread toward previously untouched neighborhoods Saturday, forcing new evacuations and dimming hopes that the disaster was coming under control.At least 11 people have died as multiple fires ripped through residential areas, razing whole communities in destruction US President Joe Biden has likened to a “war scene.”Despite huge firefighting efforts, the Palisades fire prompted new evacuation orders in ritzy areas along its eastern flank — which include the Getty Center art museum and its priceless collections — as the northern flank edged toward the densely populated San Fernando Valley.”We’re a nervous wreck,” Sarah Cohen told the Los Angeles Times of the threat to her Tarzana home.”Every time they drop water, it gets better. But then it gets worse again.”Aerial footage from the Mandeville Canyon area showed houses burning, with a wall of flame licking up a hillside.Winds were picking up again after a brief lull, and were expected to persist well into next week.”These winds, combined with dry air and dry vegetation, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County high,” said Los Angeles County fire chief Anthony Marrone.- Row -The Palisades fire was 11 percent contained Saturday and spreading east after burning 22,600 acres (9,100 hectares).The Eaton Fire was at 14,000 acres and 15 percent contained.Los Angeles residents have increasingly demanded to know who is at fault for the disaster. Local anger is rising over officials’ preparedness and response.”I don’t think the officials were prepared at all,” said James Brown, a 65-year-old retired lawyer across the city in Altadena.California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered a “full independent review,” describing lack of water supplies during the initial fires as “deeply troubling.”Meanwhile city officials put on a united front Saturday following reports of a furious row and suggestions that Mayor Karen Bass had sacked her fire chief.”As you see here, the chief and I are lockstep in our number one mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency,” Bass told reporters. The at-times tense press conference came after Chief Kristin Crowley complained her fire department was short of cash.”My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded,” Crowley told Fox television’s local network. “It’s not.”- Body search -With reports of looting, a sunset-to-sunrise curfew has been imposed in evacuated areas, with around two dozen arrests already made.Sheriff Robert Luna said people breaking curfews were being dealt with harshly.”You go out there and you violate this curfew, you are going to spend time in jail,” he said.At least 11 people are known to have died in the chaotic infernos, with 13 reported missing, but the toll is widely expected to rise.One victim was a man who had stayed behind to protect his home and was found in the driveway with a garden hose in his hand.Teams with cadaver dogs were set to start combing the rubble Saturday in the grim search for victims.Five separate fires have destroyed around 12,000 structures, California’s fire agency reported.But Todd Hopkins, who is overseeing the Palisades Fire fight, said not all of those buildings were homes.”Structures can be homes, outbuildings, RVs, automobiles or other types of things like sheds,” he said, adding the confirmed total of homes destroyed in the biggest fire was 426.”Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating.”Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Billy Crystal were among a long list of celebrities who lost houses.- Investigation -A huge investigation was under way to determine what caused the blazes, involving the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with local authorities, sheriff Luna said.”We are not going to leave any rock unturned if this is a criminal act — I’m not saying it’s going to be — if it is, we need to hold whoever did this, or groups responsible,” he said.”If anybody out there has any information on anything suspicious, maybe there’s a conversation, maybe there’s a social media post, something that you think just doesn’t sound right, get it to us.”While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are frequently natural, and are in fact a vital part of the environment’s life cycle.But urban sprawl puts people more frequently in harm’s way, and the changing climate — supercharged by humanity’s unchecked use of fossil fuels — is exacerbating the conditions that give rise to destructive blazes.

Blue Origin, the US space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos in 2000, is poised for a historic first: its maiden voyage into orbital space with a brand new rocket, New Glenn.Here are five key things to know about the heavy-lift vehicle aiming to challenge SpaceX’s dominance in the commercial space market.  – Homage -New Glenn honors a legendary astronaut: John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth in 1962.It follows in the steps of New Shepard, Blue Origin’s first rocket which was named for Alan Shepard, the first American in space.Standing 320 feet (98 meters) tall — roughly equivalent to a 32-story building — New Glenn is both larger and more powerful than its smaller sibling, which is used for suborbital space tourism.- Heavy-lift -New Glenn is classified as a “heavy-lift launcher,” capable of placing substantial payloads into low-Earth orbit. It is expected to carry up to 45 tons into orbit.That is more than double that of SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which can lift around 22 tons, though it falls short of the Falcon Heavy’s 63.8-ton capacity.However, New Glenn has a unique edge: its wider payload fairing, which can accommodate larger objects.It “has the largest capacity to put objects in space, large objects” as a result of its wider payload fairing, Elliott Bryner, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told AFP.- Swiss knife -Its versatility means New Glenn could become a “Swiss Army knife” of rockets, capable of deploying a diverse array of payloads to both low and higher orbits.These are set to include commercial and military satellites — as well as Project Kuiper, Bezos’s planned space internet constellation, to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.New Glenn also has the potential to carry crewed spacecraft, notes George Nield, president of Commercial Space Technologies. “One other potential use is for commercial space stations,” he adds.With the International Space Station slated for decommissioning in 2030, the race is on to develop replacements. Blue Origin is among the contenders vying to build the first privately run platform.- Partially reusable -Like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, New Glenn features a reusable first-stage booster — designed for up to 25 flights — and an expendable second stage.But to reuse the rocket, Blue Origin first has to land it. The company has mastered the technique with its much smaller New Shepard rocket, which touches down on solid ground. However, reusing New Glenn will require a successful landing on a drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.This is no small feat: It took SpaceX six years to perfect the maneuver with Falcon 9 after its debut launch in 2010.”Landing a rocket like this, the way they’re doing it, is definitely not simple,” said Bryner. “The level of technology required to do this is unbelievable.”Yet achieving reusability is crucial to reducing costs and broadening access to space, added Nield.- Higher tech -Under the hood, New Glenn’s propulsion system represents a step up. The first stage is powered by liquid methane, a cleaner and more efficient fuel than the kerosene used in both stages of Falcon 9.Its second stage uses liquid hydrogen, an even cleaner and more powerful fuel, though more challenging to handle due to its cryogenic properties.”It’s the difference between driving a, you know, a Ferrari or a Volkswagen,” William Anderson, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue University told AFP, comparing the technology behind New Glenn and Falcon 9.

Los Angeles city and fire officials put on a united front Saturday following reports of a furious row over the handling of devastating wildfires raging throughout the city.In an at-times tense press conference, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass denied a report that she had been planning to fire Los Angeles City Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley.Crowley, standing alongside Bass, meanwhile said the city’s political leaders, fire and police departments were “all on the same page” as they battled the devastating infernos that have left at least 11 people dead.Crowley had appeared to direct a barb at city leaders on Friday when she said her department was underfunded.”My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded,” Crowley told Fox television’s local network. “It’s not.”Hours later, Crowley met Bass in a private meeting at city hall which ran so late that Bass was forced to miss a scheduled news briefing. The Daily Mail later reported on its website that Bass had fired Crowley.Yet on Saturday Bass and Crowley denied the reported rift as they stood alongside Los Angeles Police Department chief Jim McDonnell.”As you see here, the chief and I are lockstep in our number one mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency,” Bass told reporters. “We want to make sure that we save lives, we save housing, we save businesses, and if there are differences that we have, we will continue to deal with those in private.”Asked if she had been planning to fire Crowley, Bass replied emphatically: “No.”Crowley reiterated that the city’s leaders were united as they battle the disaster.”We are both focused on our urgent needs to mitigate these devastating wildfires, our top priority remains saving lives and protecting property,” Crowley said.Bass insisted that the city’s fire department would be given all resources necessary to combat the flames.”If Chief Crowley calls me and tells me this is what we need, then that’s what we’ll do,” she said.

After ripping through thousands of buildings, wildfires in Los Angeles were looming Saturday toward the celebrated Getty Center and its priceless collection.Nestled in the mountains above Los Angeles, the famed art museum is within a new evacuation warning zone as the Palisades Fire roars east toward populated areas.Dubbed a “beautiful fortress” and constructed of fire-resistant travertine stone, as well as cement and steel, the center has drawn museum experts from around the world to observe its safety system.Its roofs are covered with crushed stone to prevent embers igniting, and even in the gardens, resilient plants were chosen.Inside, the galleries can be closed off with a vault-like double door that, museum officials say, is practically impenetrable.”Getty staff, the art collections and buildings remain safe from the Palisades Fire,” the museum said Friday, hours before the evacuation warning.”The threat is still happening,” Getty added in an X post.The museum’s unique collection comprises 125,000 artworks — including paintings by Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh and Monet — and 1.4 million documents. It also houses a research hub and a foundation.Museum officials have previously said the collection is protected within the center’s fireproof structure, made up of 300,000 travertine blocks and 12,500 tons of steel bars.”The Getty was constructed to house valuable art and keep it very safe from fires, from earthquakes, from any type of damage,” said Lisa Lapin, communications vice president now and when Getty was threatened by fire in 2019.”We are really built like a beautiful fortress, and everything inside is quite safe,” she told AFP at the time.- Getty shuts its doors -Built more than two decades ago by architect Richard Meier, at a cost of $1 billion, the center’s protection measures also include a million-gallon (3.8-million liter) water tank feeding its irrigation system.The building’s ventilation system has an internal recycling system, similar to those found in cars, preventing smoke from entering rooms from the outside.Despite such extensive measures, Getty announced its closure earlier this week “out of caution and to help alleviate traffic.”When the 2019 fire threatened the center, it served as a base for firefighters battling the blaze. Caused by a tree branch falling on power lines, that fire burned 745 acres (300 hectares) and destroyed 10 homes.A fire two years prior also triggered safety measures at Getty, although it affected only the far side of an adjacent freeway.”In both cases, we’ve been very confident that the center is fine,” said Lapin in 2019.The Palisades Fire has ravaged more than 22,000 acres since erupting on Tuesday, and is just 11 percent contained as a series of fires burn through Los Angeles neighborhoods.The fire threatened the separate Getty Villa, which also has special flame resistant protections, earlier in the week.Trees and vegetation around the coastal villa were burned, but the structure and collections — including Greek and Roman antiquities — were spared.

The largest of the Los Angeles’ fires spread toward previously untouched neighborhoods Saturday, forcing new evacuations and dimming hopes that the disaster was coming under control.Across the city, at least 11 people have died as multiple fires have ripped through residential areas since Tuesday, razing thousands of homes in destruction that US President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.”Despite huge firefighting efforts, the Palisades fire’s expansion prompted evacuation orders in ritzy neighborhoods along its eastern flank, which include the famous Getty Center art museum.Winds were forecast to pick up again on Saturday after a brief lull, posing the risk of new fires as embers are blown into dry brush.Los Angeles residents have increasingly demanded to know who is at fault for the disaster as they grapple with the ruin and local anger rises over officials’ preparedness and response.Residents like Nicole Perri, whose home in the upscale Pacific Palisades burnt down, told AFP that officials “completely let us down.””I don’t think the officials were prepared at all,” said James Brown, a 65-year-old retired lawyer across the city in Altadena.California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered a “full independent review,” describing the lack of water supplies during the initial fires as “deeply troubling.””We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in an open letter.As reports of looting grew, a sunset-to-sunrise curfew was imposed in evacuated areas.Around two dozen arrests have already been made across Los Angeles, where some residents have organized street patrols and kept armed watch over their own houses.The National Guard has been deployed to bolster law enforcement.- 12,000 buildings gone -Five separate fires have so far burned more than 37,000 acres (15,000 hectares), destroying around 12,000 buildings, California’s fire agency reported.The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed an additional fatality on Friday, bringing the overall death toll so far to 11, though the figure is expected to rise.”It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” said Biden, as he received a briefing at the White House.Winds had calmed Friday, providing a fleeting window of opportunity for firefighters battling blazes around the clock for a fourth consecutive day.”Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating.”Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Billy Crystal were among a long list of celebrities who lost houses, while Prince Harry and his wife Meghan — who quit royal life in 2020 and moved to California — were seen comforting survivors.The Palisades fire was only eight percent contained on Saturday morning and spreading east after burning 21,600 acres.Emergency chiefs warned the situation was still extremely dangerous.The winds “are going to increase again in the coming days,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).Authorities have said it was too early to know the cause of the blazes.- Blame game -Biden on Friday took a veiled swipe at incoming president Donald Trump, who has spread misinformation over the fires that has then been amplified on social media.”You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage,” the president said.Newsom, who has been blamed for the disaster by the president-elect, invited Trump to visit Los Angeles and survey the devastation with him.”We must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines,” said Newsom.Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley pointed to recent funding cuts of the service, saying her department was chronically under-resourced and short of staff.Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.Emergency managers apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts were erroneously sent to millions of mobile phones, sparking panic.

Californians on Friday demanded to know who is at fault for the vast devastation caused by the raging Los Angeles wildfires, as a strict curfew went into force to prevent looting and lawlessness.At least 11 people died as flames ripped through neighborhoods and razed thousands of homes in a disaster that US President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.”While Angelenos grapple with the heart-rending ruin, anger has risen over officials’ preparedness and response, particularly for a series of false evacuation alarms and after hydrants ran dry as firefighters battled the initial blazes.Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered a “full independent review” of the city’s utilities, describing the lack of water supplies during the initial fires as “deeply troubling.””We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in an open letter.Residents like Nicole Perri, whose home in the upscale Pacific Palisades burnt down, told AFP that officials “completely let us down.””I don’t think the officials were prepared at all,” said James Brown, a 65-year-old retired lawyer across the city in Altadena.A flare-up late Friday prompted new mandatory evacuations from ritzy neighborhoods along the fire’s eastern flank, which include the famous Getty Center.Built at a cost of $1 billion and constructed partly of fire-resistant travertine stone, the acclaimed museum boasts 125,000 artworks.Meanwhile, as fears of looting grow, a sunset-to-sunrise curfew took effect in evacuated areas.Around two dozen arrests have already been made across Los Angeles, where some residents have organized street patrols and kept armed watch over their own houses.”If we see you in these areas, you will be subject to arrest,” Los Angeles Police Department chief Jim McDonnell said.Violators face up to six months in prison or $1,000 fines, he said.The National Guard has been deployed to bolster law enforcement.- ‘Devastating’ -Five separate fires have so far burned more than 37,000 acres (15,000 hectares), destroying around 10,000 buildings, California’s fire agency reported. The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed an additional fatality on Friday, bringing the overall death toll so far to 11.”It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” said Biden, as he received a briefing on the fires at the White House. Winds calmed Friday, providing a much-needed if fleeting window of opportunity for firefighters battling blazes around the clock for a fourth consecutive day.At the biggest of the blazes, in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, firefighters said they were starting to get the fire under control, with eight percent of its perimeter contained.”Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating.”Meanwhile the Eaton Fire in the Altadena area was three percent contained, with fire chief Jason Schillinger reporting “significant progress” in quelling the blaze.A third fire that exploded Thursday afternoon near the wealthy Hidden Hills enclave, home to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, was 50 percent surrounded.But emergency chiefs warned the situation is “still very dangerous” and reprieve from the intense gusts that spread embers will not last.”The winds have died down today, but… are going to increase again in the coming days,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).- ‘Demagogues’ -Authorities have said it was too early to know the cause of the blazes.Biden took a veiled swipe at incoming president Donald Trump, who has spread misinformation over the flames that has then been amplified on social media.”You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it,” Biden said of the fires.Governor Newsom, who has been blamed for the disaster by the president-elect, invited Trump to visit Los Angeles and survey the devastation with him.”In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines,” said Newsom.Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.Two wet years in southern California have given way to a very dry one, leaving ample fuel on the ground primed to burn.Emergency managers apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts were erroneously sent to millions of mobile phones, sparking panic.”I can’t express enough how sorry I am,” said Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley blamed recent funding cuts, telling Fox News affiliate KTTV her department was chronically “understaffed” and “under-resourced.”