Los Angeles fires threaten Hollywood

(Los Angeles) The out-of-control fires raging around Los Angeles threatened the Hollywood district on Thursday, which was being evacuated, and caused scenes of chaos in the second city in the United States.

Charred houses, vehicles and palm trees devoured by flames and thick plumes of black smoke, AFP journalists saw scenes of the end of the world in the districts of Altadena and Pacific Palisades, in the heart of the gigantic Californian outbreaks which five deaths so far.

As haggard residents looked on, helicopters sprayed water on the Hollywood Hills to fight the fires which, according to mainstream American media, would be the most destructive ever seen in Los Angeles.

“I’m very nervous, scared by everything that happened elsewhere,” Sharon Ibarra, 29, told AFP amid the traffic jams created by the Hollywood evacuation order.

In total, more than 100,000 residents have been called to evacuate their homes while at least five large outbreaks are devastating the region and progressing very quickly, fanned by violent winds.

Winds blowing up to 160 km/hour first spread the flames at lightning speed to the upscale neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, home to the villas of many celebrities, and where 6,500 hectares were charred and a thousand buildings destroyed.

With the destruction of a hundred luxury residences costing millions of dollars, the fire there would be the costliest ever recorded: damage was estimated at $57 billion by AccuWeather.

On Wednesday evening, flames began to devour the Hollywood Hills, a few hundred meters from the famous Hollywood Boulevard and Chinese Theater. Another fire also broke out in the evening in the neighboring Studio City district.

Since Tuesday, around 1,500 houses or buildings have been destroyed and more than 100,000 residents of the American megalopolis forced to flee the flames. The authorities fear discovering new deaths.

Los Angeles is being swept by “hurricane-force winds combined with extreme drought conditions,” Mayor Karen Bass explained during a press briefing Wednesday evening.

The fight was expected to be long: the squalls gradually weakened, but the meteorological services maintained their red alert for strong winds until Friday.

“Not enough firefighters”

Since Tuesday, outbreaks have multiplied in the suburbs north of Los Angeles, often exploding within a few minutes.

“We don’t have enough firefighters in Los Angeles County to deal with this situation,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday.

“More than 7,500” firefighters, sometimes from other American states, are leading the fight against these “unprecedented fires in Los Angeles,” the governor of California declared Wednesday evening.

William Gonzales returned to see his home, evacuated the day before, in the town of Altadena which resembles a bombed area, with buildings still on fire.

He confided to AFP “having lost almost everything”: “the flames have engulfed our dreams. There’s nothing left but ashes here.”

Empty fire hydrants

One of the five victims was Altadena resident Victor Shaw, who defended his home against the flames until the end.

“It seems like he was trying to save the house that his parents had for almost 55 years,” his friend Al Tanner, who found him lifeless, garden hose in hand, told KTLA.

Californians were urged by authorities to conserve water as three reservoirs supplying fire hydrants were emptied by battling blazes in Pacific Palisades.

President-elect Donald Trump spread false information on his Truth Social network, claiming that California is running out of water because of Democratic environmental policies that would divert rainwater to protect “useless fish.”

In reality, most of the water used by Los Angeles comes from the Colorado River, and is primarily used by the agricultural industry.

President Joe Biden, still in power for a few days, is currently visiting California. After releasing federal aid to increase firefighting, he canceled his trip planned for Thursday to Italy, the White House announced.

Cinema disrupted

The fires are also disrupting the cinema industry: several film and series shoots have been stopped, and the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park has closed.

Oscar nominations have been pushed back two days to January 19. Just like the Critics Choice Awards ceremony, which was to be held on Sunday.

Several Hollywood celebrities are among the tens of thousands of people ordered to evacuate.

Known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the saga Star WarsMark Hamill announced on Instagram that he had to leave his house in Malibu, a city popular with stars, on Tuesday.

The Santa Ana winds currently blowing are a classic of California’s autumns and winters. But this week, they reached an intensity not seen since 2011, according to meteorologists.

A real nightmare for firefighters, because California is coming out of two very rainy years which created lush vegetation, now dried out by an abnormally dry winter.

Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.

“It’s probably climate change that’s affecting everything. I’m sure that contributed to all of this,” sighs Debbie Collins, in front of her store threatened by flames in Altadena.