Nearly 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday, January 7, due to out-of-control fires in the hills above Los Angeles. Strong winds are capable of spreading the flames quickly and pose a “mortal danger”, local authorities announced.
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. No injuries have been reported at this time.
“I’ve seen it on TV before, and 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.
“There was smoke in the distance, and I was assured that it wouldn’t come over the hill. (…) Five minutes later, it was coming down the hill. Everyone panicked and went inside at home to evacuate your house,” he explained.
Many residents evacuated hastily, with just a few belongings and their pets. This caused large traffic jams in the area and some even abandoned their cars to escape, according to images from local media.
The fire caused a huge cloud of smoke, visible from the entire megacity. The neighboring town of Malibu, which already suffered a large fire in December, has closed its schools. “Evacuate the Palisades area now,” the city of Los Angeles ordered on X.
A “destructive” storm poses a “mortal danger”
The fire broke out while Los Angeles was being swept by particularly violent gusts: hot Santa Ana winds, typical of the Californian winter, were expected to blow up to 160 km/h, according to the US Weather Services (NWS). ).
Enough to spread the flames very quickly and greatly complicate the task of the firefighters, who could find themselves deprived of aerial means in the coming hours.
“WARNING!!! A DESTRUCTIVE wind storm posing a DEADLY DANGER is expected from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning over a large part of the region” of Los Angeles, warned the NWS on X.
“It’s going to be a tough night” in the region because winds will peak after sunset, warned Daniel Swain, an extreme events specialist at UCLA. “This is expected to be the strongest wind event in this region since 2011,” he added. 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.
“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 Democratic governor asked Californians to “respect evacuation orders,” which are not always followed in the United States.
More than 250 firefighters are currently mobilized. They are fighting the fire “aggressively,” assured Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on social media. “Area residents are urged to heed evacuation warnings and follow the instructions of public safety officials,” the Democrat added.
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.
An extremely “dry” start to winter
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. “It’s something […] that we should not take for granted at this moment in American history,” greeted 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.
