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.
Nearly 1,200 hectares ravaged
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 devastated nearly 1,200 hectares. The authorities have identified “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.
“There were flames everywhere around us, left, right. (…) It was terrifying”
“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 and right. (…) It was terrifying. »
Gusts up to 160 km/h
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 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”
“We are absolutely not out of the woods,” insisted Gavin Newsom, recalling that the gusts were expected to “reach their peak” tonight. The Democratic governor asked Californians to “respect evacuation orders,” which 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 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.
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.
Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. “November, December, January… There is no more 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. “This is something (…) that we should not take for granted at this moment in American history,” greeted Mr. Newsom. Indeed, Donald Trump, who is due to succeed Biden in a few days at the White House, threatened in September to cut the federal aid usually received by California to fight against forest fires.
