The Weather Channel has confirmed it did not share footage of human remains in the aftermath of the LA wildfires after viewers claimed to have spotted a body.
TV watchers said debris spotted on screen resembled a dead person, but The Weather Channel has since told DailyMail.com that it was rubble from a ruined house.
A spokesperson said: ‘These social media claims are inaccurate and completely false.
‘We have 100% confirmed that the video shows debris from the aftermath of a house fire and nothing else.’
On Wednesday, multiple social media users claimed to have spotted a dead body in the aftermath of fires in Los Angeles.
Allen Media Group, which owns The Weather Channel, later sent photos of the discovery from another angle which clearly show debris.
Worried viewers of The Weather Channel claimed to have spotted a dead body on screen among the California wildfire debris, but channel bosses have confirmed it was harmless debris
The Weather Channel shared hi-res images of the same debris from a different angle
Another photo which confirms the debris is just the ruined contents of a home trashed by the fire
A perfect storm of overgrown vegetation, dry conditions and uncharacteristic winds are responsible for whipping up the most devastating wildfire Los Angeles has ever seen
Firefighters began to make progress battling the deadly and devastating fires in the Los Angeles area early Thursday, especially because the ferocious winds that have been driving the fast-moving flames are expected to slow down.
On Wednesday, hurricane-force winds blew embers, igniting block after block in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and in Altadena, a community near Pasadena. Aircraft were grounded for a time because of the winds, hampering firefighting efforts.
Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes — called the Palisades and Eaton fires — and the number is expected to increase. The five deaths recorded so far were from the Eaton Fire near Pasadena.
More than 100,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles — roughly the size of the city of San Francisco.
The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said the city’s water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire due to the intense winds.
‘Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire,’ he said.
Still, questions were being raised about why some hydrants ran dry and what caused the water system to buckle when it was needed most.
More than 100,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles
Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes
The dramatic level of destruction was apparent in a comparison of satellite images before and after the fire.
About 250 homes in Altadena that had been dotted with green leafy trees were reduced to rubble. Only a few homes remained, some still in flames according to images from Maxar Technologies. Just a handful of 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu appeared intact.
A perfect storm of overgrown vegetation, dry conditions and uncharacteristic winds are responsible for whipping up the most devastating wildfire Los Angeles has ever seen.
Officials believe the blaze began as a tiny spark as part of an accidental backyard fire.
But the tinderbox conditions meant it was just a matter of hours before the blaze had ballooned out of control.
The forecaster estimates that $52 billion to $57 billion in preliminary damage and economic loss has occurred from the blazes
Firefighers from several states have now been drafted in to help battle the flames, which show no signs of abating.
The devastation from the Los Angeles wildfires has already cost the city up to $57 billion, according to Accuweather.
Many of the homes razed to the ground were located in the Pacific Palisades, a celebrity enclave where the average cost of a dwelling is an eye-watering $3.4 million.
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