Los Angeles:
Wildfires ripped through Los Angeles’ upscale coastal area overnight, forcing more than 30,000 people to evacuate their homes. Hollywood celebrities were among those evacuated by car or on foot as flames engulfed homes and burned hillsides.
Weather conditions are expected to worsen throughout Wednesday, with stormy weather and dry conditions fueling fires in the Pacific Palisades and at least two other areas in the Los Angeles area, forecasters said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.
Eaton Fire breaks out in Pasadena, California.
Photo credit: Reuters
Scores of buildings were destroyed and nearly 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares) burned in the Pacific Palisades, between the seaside towns of Santa Monica and Malibu, officials said. Many movie and music stars live in this area.
Roads were clogged with people fleeing the hell, some abandoning their cars as flames licked the edges and smoke and flames rose into the night sky over Los Angeles and its suburbs.
A wildfire ripped through an upscale neighborhood in north Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Photo credit: Reuters
Actor Steve Guttenberg told KTLA-TV that his friends were prevented from evacuating because others left their cars in the road.
“It’s very important that we all stick together and not worry about personal property. Just get out,” Guttenberg said. “Take your loved ones and leave.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday morning urged residents to follow evacuation and parking orders and use shelters set up by authorities if necessary.
“Please stay alert and stay safe,” she wrote in a post on X, noting that the storm was expected to worsen into the morning.
“This is an especially dangerous situation for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties!” the National Weather Service said in an advisory.
As Pacific Palisades resident Cindy Festa evacuated, she said the fire was “this close to the car,” demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.
“People left their cars on Palisades Drive. The hillside is on fire. The palm trees and everything is going on,” Festa said from his car.
Several people were injured in the Palisades fire, some with burns to their faces and hands, fire officials told KTLA. One female firefighter suffered head injuries. However, no deaths have been reported.
Hollywood actor James Woods told the X Show that he was able to evacuate his Pacific Palisades home, but added: “At this point, I don’t know if my home is still standing.”
at least three blazes
The second fire, known as the Eaton Fire, started about 30 miles (50 kilometers) inland from Altadena, near Pasadena, and grew from 200 acres to 1,000 acres (400 hectares) in a matter of hours, Cal Fire said.
About 100 residents were evacuated from a Pasadena nursing home, according to CBS News. Video footage showed elderly residents in wheelchairs and stretchers crammed into a smoky, wind-swept parking lot as fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene.
Fire officials said a third fire, dubbed the Hearst Fire, broke out in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, prompting the evacuation of some nearby residents. The Hearst Fire has grown from 100 acres (40 hectares) to 500 acres (202 hectares), according to Cal Fire.
More than 210,000 homes and businesses in Los Angeles County were without power late Tuesday, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
Witnesses reported that the fire spread from there to the Pacific Ocean, engulfing many homes and nearly charring cars as people evacuated the hills of Topanga Valley.
Local media said the fire had spread north, burning homes near Malibu. Evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Malibu and Santa Monica.
Photo credit: Reuters
The Los Angeles Times reported, citing fire officials, that multiple burn victims were treated after walking to Duke’s Restaurant in Malibu in the evening.
More than 25,000 people in 10,000 homes are at risk, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Christine Crowley said earlier in a news conference.
Firefighting aircraft pulled water from the sea and dropped it on top of the flames, engulfing homes. Television footage showed bulldozers removing abandoned vehicles from the road to make way for emergency vehicles.
The fire burned some trees on the grounds of the Getty Villa, a museum housing priceless artefacts, but the collection was largely spared because nearby bushes had been cut down as a precaution, the museum said. said.
Before the fires broke out, the National Weather Service had issued a maximum extreme fire warning for much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday.
Conditions were “as bad as the worst in terms of fire weather,” the bureau said, with lack of rain resulting in low humidity and dry vegetation.
Governor Newsom said the state has deployed personnel, fire engines and aircraft to other parts of Southern California given the widespread fire danger. He said Wednesday morning that California had secured federal funding to suppress all three fires.
The state of emergency would allow state, local, and tribal agencies to receive compensation for their duties in dealing with wildfires and their aftermath.
A fire breaks out during a rainstorm on the west side of Los Angeles.
Photo credit: Reuters
Biden’s visit canceled
Strong winds forced President Joe Biden’s travel plans to change and Air Force One in Los Angeles was grounded. He was scheduled to take a short flight inland to the Coachella Valley to attend a ceremony to erect two new national monuments in California.
Biden said in an evening statement that he had been briefed on the wildfires and offered federal assistance. Biden said reimbursement for federal aid for California’s fire response has already been approved.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
