A neighborhood in Los Angeles is engulfed in flames

A large fire prompted evacuations Tuesday in the hills above Los Angeles, which is experiencing strong winds capable of spreading flames quickly, local authorities warned.

The fire broke out late in the morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which borders the Santa Monica Mountains, northwest of the city.

According to several witnesses, some homes have already burned in this upscale area, populated with multi-million dollar villas built in the middle of steep canyons.

At the start of the afternoon, the fire already covered more than 300 hectares on the outskirts of Los Angeles, according to local firefighters. I’ve seen this before on TV and never thought wind could have such an effect on fireGary told local channel KTLA. This resident of the neighborhood reported seeing embers dragged 100 meters in the air.

There was smoke in the distance, and I was assured it wouldn’t come over the hill […] Five minutes later she was coming down the hill. Everyone panicked and went home to evacuate their househe detailed.

Many residents left in a hurry, with just a few belongings and their pets. This caused large traffic jams in the area and some even abandoned their cars to escape, according to images from local media.

The fire caused a huge cloud of smoke, visible from the entire megacity. The neighboring town of Malibu, which already suffered a large fire in December, has closed its schools. Now evacuate the Palisades areaordered the city of Los Angeles on

Violent gusts

The fire broke out while Los Angeles was being swept by particularly violent gusts: hot Santa Ana winds, typical of the Californian winter, were expected to blow up to 160 km/h, according to the US Weather Services (NWS). ).

Enough to spread the flames very quickly and greatly complicate the task of the firefighters, who could find themselves deprived of aerial means in the coming hours.

ATTENTION!!! A DESTRUCTIVE windstorm posing a DEADLY DANGER is expected from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning over a large part of the region from Los Angeles, the NWS warned on X.

It’s going to be a tough night in the region, as winds will peak after sunset, warned Daniel Swain, an extreme events specialist at UCLA University.

This is expected to be the strongest wind event in this region since 2011he added. But the risk of fire is according to him much higher than at the time.

Indeed, after two very rainy years which reinvigorated the vegetation, southern California suffered the driest start to winter on record.

In other words, anything that has grown back abundantly now acts as fuel for the fire. Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.

Many firefighters had been deployed upstream and are fighting aggressively against the fire, assured the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, on social networks.

Area residents are urged to heed evacuation warnings and follow instructions from public safety officialsadded the Democrat.

These strong winds disrupted President Joe Biden’s visit to California on Tuesday to announce the creation of two protected areas in the south of the state.