The violent fires raging in California are burning the equivalent of “five football fields per minute”, according to the authorities, but a Quebecer who lives in California believes that “the worst is yet to come”.
• Also read: IN PICTURES | California: violent fire on the outskirts of Los Angeles, thousands of evacuations
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.
Firefighters are battling three fires currently that continue to intensify in Palisades, Eaton, Altadena and Hurst, north of San Fernando.
Nathalie Bergeron, a Quebecer who lives in California, nearly 10 kilometers from where the fire broke out in Eaton, said she was worried for her loved ones who live in the affected region.
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Thousands of evacuations
About 30,000 residents near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood between Malibu and Santa Monica were forced to evacuate.
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“These are difficult areas [à évacuer]there is only one road, she explains, in an interview with Quebec MorningWednesday. I had no news from several friends yesterday who took almost four hours to escape the flames.”
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Although his loved ones are now in a safe place, they have “no news” regarding the state of their home.
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Abandoned vehicles
“Numerous structures were destroyed” in the flames, California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed during a press briefing Tuesday evening.
Firefighters used bulldozers to clear dozens of vehicles from the roadway in the neighborhood ravaged by flames. “There are people who abandoned their vehicles and rushed to the beach. Bulldozers move cars off the roads,” explains Ms. Bergeron.
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The authorities have also reported a “mortal danger” due to winds of hurricane power with gusts of up to 100 km/h. “The worst is yet to come, unfortunately,” notes the Quebecer. This morning, we expect winds of up to 150 km/h.”
This is the first time that Nathalie Bergeron has seen a fire of “such magnitude and drama,” she maintains.
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Fires in urban environments
“I returned to Los Angeles last night. From the airport, we see the hill on fire, right in the urban environment,” explains Ms. Bergeron.
On the other hand, the fire is not going towards her residence for the moment, she is not yet worried about her safety.
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“This is the side that touches Pacific Palisades, west of me. But we are monitoring what is happening, because with the winds we do not know to what extent the fire will continue to grow.”
The Eaton fire is “very serious,” according to Nathalie Bergeron. “It’s not a brush fire, in the mountains. It’s absolutely on fire in the urban environment.”
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“We are having the driest winter in decades,” she adds. There was no rain, it was vegetation that burned quickly. We have flames that rise up to ten meters high.”
More than 250 firefighters are mobilized to bring the forest fire under control.
Despite the chaotic evacuation, no deaths or injuries were reported, said Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.
Watch the full interview in the video above.
– With information from AFP
