Violent wildfires are ravaging areas around Los Angeles on the US west coast, forcing thousands to flee as hurricane-force winds pose a “mortal danger”.
Los Angeles engulfed in flames. Three fires broke out this Tuesday, January 7 at the gates of this city in the west of the United States, burning a total of more than 1,600 hectares and posing a “mortal danger”, according to the authorities. Around 30,000 people are under evacuation orders.
The first fire broke out late in the morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, populated with multimillion-dollar villas in the mountains northwest of the city.
The authorities have identified “many structures already destroyed,” explained California Governor Gavin Newsom during an evening press briefing. The latter announced on X that he had “proclaimed a state of emergency”.
“I haven’t seen such extreme fire behavior in a very long time,” Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher told CNN.
The fire caused a huge cloud of smoke, visible from the entire megacity. The BBC correspondent, who has lived in Los Angeles for 20 years, says he has “never experienced a day like this.”
“There were flames everywhere around us”
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.”
Dozens of people decided to flee on foot, some carrying suitcases, notes the American press agency, Associated Press. “We were stuck for 20 minutes” in traffic, while “the children were being evacuated from the school,” Andrew Hires, another resident, told AFP.
Firefighters had to clear the roadway with a bulldozer to access the neighborhood. 30 cars were moved to clear the lane, according to Traffic News Los Angeles, leaving crushed hulks with blaring alarms on the side of the road.
Several celebrities were evacuated from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood such as Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, and James Woods from Once upon a time in America.
“I don’t know at this moment if our house is still standing, but unfortunately the houses on our little street are not,” lamented on X the latter, winner of a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards, showing the flames engulfing trees and bushes around his house, as he prepared to evacuate
Several victims, including a firefighter, were recorded by Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Erik Scott. “Around 8:30 p.m., a 25-year-old female firefighter suffered a serious head injury. She received immediate treatment on scene and was transported to a local hospital for further examination,” he wrote on X.
“Several burn victims were reported heading towards a nearby restaurant, Duke’s Malibu,” it added. “Response teams redirected medical resources to the scene to conduct assessment and treatment.”
Fires that spread quickly
The more than 1,400 firefighters mobilized, according to Governor Gavin Newsom, must fight on several fronts. The Eaton fire, located in the inland foothills northeast of Los Angeles, broke out hours after the Pacific Palisades fire and spread quickly. In 6 hours, approximately 404 hectares were burned. The flames spread so quickly that residents of an Ephad had to be urgently evacuated in wheelchairs or in their hospital beds, reports the Associated Press.
Another fire, Hurst, also broke out northeast of Los Angeles in the Sylmar neighborhood around 10:30 p.m. (local time) and currently covers 40 hectares. New evacuation orders have been issued. The Democratic governor asked Californians to “respect evacuation orders,” which are not always followed in the United States.
Tuesday evening, 28,300 homes were without electricity due to violent winds, according to the town hall. Power was cut to 15,000 other homes to avoid any risk of their equipment starting a fire.
“We are absolutely not out of the woods”
These fires 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 in the region for several days, according to the US Weather Service (NWS). Enough to spread the flames very quickly and pose a “mortal danger”.
“We are absolutely not out of the woods,” insisted California Governor Gavin Newsom, recalling that the gusts will “reach their peak” tonight, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
“The combination of strong winds and the neighborhood’s steep topography makes the task extremely difficult,” said Kristin Crowley, a Los Angeles fire official.
According to the Los Angeles Time, high winds forced crews to temporarily halt their efforts to fight the flames. Air assets will probably not be able to intervene during the night.
David Acuna, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), was asked by CNN whether there was “any hope of containing these fires, given the violent winds. To which he replied: “No. Honestly, there isn’t.”
“Our main concern is to ensure that all people can leave the area,” he added.
“There is no more fire season”
“This is expected to be the strongest wind event in this region since 2011,” warned Daniel Swain, an extreme events specialist at UCLA University. And 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”.
This region has not seen more than 0.25 centimeters of rain since early May. 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 Gavin 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. “I have offered whatever federal assistance is necessary to help put out the terrible fire in Pacific Palisades,” he said on X.
“This is something (…) that we should not take for granted at this moment in American history,” greeted Governor Gavin Newsom. Donald Trump, who is due to succeed Joe 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.
Juliette Brossault with AFP
