A violent forest fire is ravaging an upscale neighborhood overlooking Los Angeles, on the west coast of the United States, forcing thousands of people to flee since Tuesday as hurricane-force winds pose a “mortal danger”, according to the authorities.
“It’s going to be, I think, a difficult night” between Tuesday and Wednesday in Los Angeles, judged Daniel Swain, specialist in extreme events at UCLA University. “It looks very, very worrying. (…) And what is happening now is only the beginning, because the weather conditions are going to get seriously worse.”
The fire broke out late Tuesday morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, populated with multi-million dollar villas where Hollywood celebrities live, in the mountains northwest of the city. Panicked residents had to abandon their vehicles on one of the only roads entering and exiting the area, fleeing on foot from the fire which has already ravaged nearly 1,200 hectares.
To access the neighborhood, firefighters had to use bulldozers to clear dozens of vehicles from the roadway – including expensive BMW, Tesla and Mercedes models – leaving crushed carcasses with blaring alarms on the side of the road. The fire caused a huge cloud of smoke, visible from the entire megacity.
The authorities have identified “many structures already destroyed,” explained California Governor Gavin Newsom during a press briefing Tuesday evening.
Despite the chaotic evacuation, no deaths or injuries were reported, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.
Around 30,000 people are under evacuation orders, according to authorities.
“I never thought the wind could have such an effect on the fire,” Gary told local station KTLA. This resident of the neighborhood said he saw “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, right. (…) It was terrifying.”
– Gusts up to 160 km/h –
Many planned events in the city were canceled, including a premiere of Jennifer Lopez’s new film, “Unstoppable.”
Trees and vegetation around the famous Getty Villa burned, but the structure and its collections of Roman and Greek antiquities were spared, the museum announced on X.
Actor James Woods posted a video on X showing the flames swallowing trees and bushes around his house, as he prepared to evacuate. “I can’t believe our sweet little house in the hills lasted this long. It’s like losing a loved one,” he said.
The fire broke out at the worst time for Los Angeles, swept by violent gusts.
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 pose a “mortal danger”.
“We are absolutely not out of the woods,” insisted Mr. Newsom, recalling that the gusts will “reach their peak” during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, between 10:00 p.m. (06:00 GMT Wednesday) and 5:00 a.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT).
More than 250 firefighters are currently mobilized, said Kristin Crowley, Los Angeles fire chief.
“The combination of strong winds and the “steep” topography of the neighborhood makes the task extremely difficult,” she 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.
Velma Wright, 102 years old, was evacuated from a Pasadena healthcare facility where embers and flames were approaching, an AFP photographer noted.
– Extremely “dry” start to winter –
“This is expected to be the strongest wind event in this region since 2011,” warns meteorologist Daniel Swain. 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.
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 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.
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.
