Intense fire causes thousands of evacuations on the outskirts of Los Angeles

A spectacular fire on Tuesday forced thousands of people to evacuate the hills overlooking Los Angeles, which is experiencing violent winds spreading the flames and posing a “mortal danger”, according to authorities.

The fire broke out late in the morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, populated with multimillion-dollar villas in the mountains northwest of the city. It has already ravaged nearly 1,200 hectares.

The authorities identify many structures already destroyed explained California Governor Gavin Newsom during a press briefing Tuesday evening.

Around 30,000 people are under evacuation orders, according to authorities. No injuries have been reported at this time.

I 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.

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 carsshe said. Everyone was honking their horns, there were flames everywhere around us, left and right. […] It was terrifying.We were stuck for 20 minutes in traffic, while children were being evacuated from schooltold theAFP 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.

Hot winds

Warm Santa Ana winds, typical of the California winter, are expected to blow up to 100 mph in the region Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the U.S. Weather Service (NWS). Enough to spread the flames very quickly and place a mortal danger.

We are absolutely not out of the woodsinsisted Mr. Newsom, recalling that the gusts will reach their peak tonight, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The Democratic governor asked Californians to follow evacuation orderswhich are not always followed in the United States.

More than 250 firefighters are currently mobilized, added Kristin Crowley, a Los Angeles fire official.

The combination of strong winds and topography steep neighborhood makes the task extremely difficultshe insisted. Air assets will probably not be able to intervene during the night.

The firefighters will even have to fight on several fronts: Tuesday evening, a new fire broke out near Pasadena, north of Los Angeles and quickly ravaged more than 400 hectares, according to the CalFire agency.

This is expected to be the strongest wind event in this region since 2011warned Daniel Swain, specialist in extreme events 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 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.

November, December, January… There is no longer a fire season. It takes place all year roundrecalled Governor Newsom.

The storm disrupted the visit of President Joe Biden, who came to California on Tuesday to announce the creation of two national monumentslarge 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 historygreeted Mr. Newsom.

Donald Trump, who is due to succeed Mr. Biden in a few days at the White House, threatened in September to cut federal aid usually received by California to fight against forest fires.