BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has directed the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Los Angeles to provide full assistance to Thai nationals affected by the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. The Consulate-General has established an emergency operations center to support affected Thai residents.
The Consulate-General can be reached through their regular number at 323-962-9574 or their 24-hour emergency hotline at 323-580-4222.
Among those affected by the Palisades Fire is former Miss Universe 1988, Porntip Nakhirunkanok Simon. Thai media outlet SiamTownUS reported that her Malibu home, located opposite Cholada Thai Cuisine restaurant, has been destroyed by the fire.
Porntip confirmed the loss on social media, stating, “We lost our beloved home in Malibu yesterday. My first home and sacred nest for 25 years has now been reduced to ashes, erasing all the belongings, photos and mementos of the last few decades.” She added that her family is safe and encouraged continued support for others affected by the disaster.
The Associated Press reported today that the two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.
The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees and moved into neighboring Ventura County by the evening.
Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed seven people so far.
“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning.
The orders came as Los Angeles County officials announced the Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed over 5,300 structures.
All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the Los Angeles area are located in a roughly 25-mile band north of downtown, spreading a sense of fear and sadness across the nation’s second-largest city.
Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.
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