VIDEO. Residents trapped in their homes surrounded by flames: frightening images of the fire ravaging north Los Angeles

The large-scale fire broke out late in the morning on Tuesday, January 7, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, populated with multi-million dollar villas, in the mountains northwest of Los Angeles. In just a few hours, it devastated nearly 1,200 hectares, dangerously threatening the lives of thousands of residents.

Authorities quickly identified “many structures already destroyed,” California Governor Gavin Newsom explained during a press briefing Tuesday evening, with around 30,000 people under evacuation orders, according to the authorities. Although no injuries have yet been reported, images circulating on social networks nevertheless raise fears of the worst, with images filmed by residents whose homes were surrounded by flames. According to the comments, some may have received contradictory orders, advising them to stay sheltered in their homes…

“I never thought the wind could have such an effect on the fire,” Gary, a resident of the neighborhood, told local channel KTLA, recounting seeing “embers dragged 100 meters” in the air. Many residents evacuated in panic, with just a few belongings and their pets. Many have found themselves stuck in traffic, like Kelsey Trainor. “There was nowhere to go and people were abandoning their cars,” she said. “Everyone was honking, there were flames all around us, left and right. […] It was terrifying.”

Gusts up to 160 km/h

“We were stuck for 20 minutes” in traffic, while “the children were being evacuated from the school,” said Andrew Hires, another resident. Firefighters had to clear the roadway with a bulldozer to access the neighborhood. The fire caused a huge cloud of smoke, visible from the entire megacity.

The fire broke out at the worst time for Los Angeles, swept by violent gusts. Warm Santa Ana winds, typical of California’s winter, are expected to blow up to 100 mph (160 km/h) across the region these days, according to the U.S. Weather Service (NWS). Enough to spread the flames very quickly and pose a “mortal danger”. “We are absolutely not out of the woods,” insisted Gary Newsom. The Democratic governor asked Californians to “respect evacuation orders,” which are not always followed in the United States.

More than 250 firefighters were mobilized, added Kristin Crowley, a Los Angeles fire official. “The combination of strong winds and the “steep” topography of the neighborhood “makes the task extremely difficult,” she insisted. Firefighters will even have to fight on several fronts, since a new fire broke out near Pasadena, north of Los Angeles and quickly ravaged more than 400 hectares, according to the CalFire agency.

Extremely “dry” start to winter

“This is expected to be the strongest wind event in this region since 2011,” warned Daniel Swain, an extreme events specialist at UCLA University. But the risk of fire is, according to him, “much higher” than at the time. Because after two very rainy years which reinvigorated the vegetation, southern California is experiencing “the driest start to winter on record”. In other words, anything that has grown back abundantly now acts as fuel for the fire. “November, December, January… There is no longer a fire season. It takes place all year round,” recalled Governor Newsom.

The storm disrupted the visit of President Joe Biden, who came to California on Tuesday to announce the creation of two “national monuments”, vast protected areas in the south of the state. Present in Los Angeles, the 82-year-old Democrat immediately approved federal aid for the second largest city in the United States.

“It’s something […] that we should not take for granted at this moment in American history”, greeted Gary Newsom. Donald Trump, who is due to succeed Joe Biden in a few days in the White House, threatened in September to cut federal aid usually received by California to fight forest fires.