Southern California, United States, ravaged by flames. A fire spread quickly this Thursday, November 7, 2024, northwest of Los Angeles.
The fire destroyed houses and agricultural land, fueled by violent winds which brought it to the gates of upscale suburbs of the city of Camarillo, 70,000 inhabitants, around sixty kilometers from the City of Angels.
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The authorities have ordered residents of the areas most at risk to evacuate, to the north of the city, reportsAgence France-Presse (AFP). Several injured people were taken to hospital and many buildings were threatened by the flames.
The hills above Camarillo are shrouded in a thick cloud of smoke. The winds, which reach 130 km/h, are expected to persist until the end of the day, this Thursday, and complicate the work of firefighters, who cannot fully deploy their aerial resources.
Thousands of hectares go up in smoke
The fire broke out in the morning, Wednesday November 6, and already covered more than 3,600 hectares by mid-afternoon. Several homes, including luxury homes, but also agricultural fields and orchards, were destroyed by the flames, according to firefighters.
More than 21,000 homes are without power, with California routinely cutting power to avoid sparking new fires fueled by high winds and overloaded networks.
“The situation is terrible”
“The situation is terrible”an employee of a ranch dedicated to horse breeding told a local television channel. “We’re trying to get them all out”she added, against a backdrop of images showing the animals installed in vans to evacuate.
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Gail Liacko had to leave her house very quickly this “normal morning”which still saw America wake up with the election of Republican Donald Trump.
“All of a sudden our outdoor furniture was covered in soot […] smoke filled the street […] it was very surreal. We don’t know what to bring in these moments of absolute panic”she says.
A few dozen kilometers further south, another fire broke out near Malibu, threatening the luxury properties that dot the coast.
After two rainy winters which provided a relative respite, California is experiencing a very active fire season this year. THE ” Golden State » (“Golden State”), as it is nicknamed, suffered several heat waves this summer, marks of global warming, and suffered the fourth largest fire in its history, in July and August.
