A fire has raged since Tuesday in an upscale neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the United States, destroying homes and causing nearly 30,000 evacuations.
At least 1,200 hectares went up in smoke in an area of Pacific Palisades, an upscale district of Los Angeles where many celebrities reside, located between the cities of Malibu and Santa Monica.
This is by far the craziest video from the fire in Los Angeles. This guy is filming huge walls of fire surrounding a house they’re in, and there’s another person and a dog. I have no idea why they didn’t evacuate or what happened to them. Let’s hope they’re okay. #PalisadesFire pic.twitter.com/QYtsBSKvdl
— Sia Kordestani (@SiaKordestani) https://twitter.com/SiaKordestani/status/1876845562328146405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Some people were forced to leave their vehicles to evacuate on foot, even though there is only one main road from the canyon to the coast and only one highway to reach safe areas.
MAXPPP – ALLISON DINNER
“Everyone was honking, there were flames all around us, left and right. […] It was terrifying,” tell Kelsey Trainor at TF1.
“People left their cars on Palisades Drive. The fire is burning the hillside. The palm trees – everything is going away”said Cindy Festa, a resident who was evacuating the scene by car.
Firefighters, who used water bombing planes to fight the flames, failed to control the early blaze and California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.
MAXPPP – Amy Katz
The firefighters also had to clear all the cars, Teslas, BMWs and even Mercedes, with bulldozers to be able to pass.
MAXPPP – Ringo Chiu
Thousands of residents in Los Angeles are evacuating as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe winds, continue to break out and destroy homes across several areas.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) https://twitter.com/PopBase/status/1876914747930464278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Two other fires in progress
A second fire, called the Eaton Fire, broke out later near Pasadena, where 400 hectares burned, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.
EPA – CAROLINE BREHMAN
Firefighters then indicated that a third fire, called the Hurst Fire, had broken out in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley, northwest of Los Angeles. The fire, which grew to 202 hectares, prompted the evacuation of some nearby residents, according to Cal Fire.
EPA – CAROLINE BREHMAN
Firefighters used water bombers to fight the flames but the fire continues to devastate the area. Warm winds typical of the Californian winter could blow up to 160 km/h in the region this Wednesday, according to the US Weather Services (NWS).
US President Joe Biden said in a statement that he had offered federal support to fight the fire.
