The city of Los Angeles in California has been facing violent forest fires since the start of the week, fanned by very strong winds, which have forced the evacuation of more than 82,000 residents.
The fires, which affect three regions of this urban area in the west of the United States, have destroyed nearly 2,300 hectares, and do not seem to show any sign of weakening, at a time when the precipitation, which should make the task easier for firefighters, are always waiting.
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Los Angeles County, which normally sees up to 11.5 centimeters of rain since the beginning of October, has received just 0.4 this year, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. In addition to the lack of precipitation, forest fires are fueled by wind gusts ranging from 80 to 120 km/h, and exceeding 160 km/h in places.
Faced with this situation, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. More than 1,400 firefighters and medical personnel have been deployed “to fight these unprecedented fires in Los Angeles”, he announced. Despite all its efforts, the authorities, quoted by the press, indicate that none of the three fires, which have also deprived hundreds of thousands of homes of electricity, is currently contained.
With MAP
