Two dead and “many serious injuries” in Los Angeles

Two people died and many others were injured in the fierce fires that raged Wednesday in Los Angeles and forced tens of thousands of residents to flee under the threat of hurricane-force winds.

Firefighters are battling three simultaneous fires in the Californian metropolitan area (western United States), notably in Pacific Palisades, an upscale neighborhood where Hollywood celebrities live.

This fire, which releases an impressive cloud of smoke, broke out late Tuesday morning and had already covered more than 2,000 hectares by Wednesday morning, destroying some 1,000 buildings in its path, according to the Los County fire chief. Angeles, Anthony Marrone.

In front of journalists, he also gave an initial human assessment of the three disasters: “Unfortunately, we deplore two deaths of civilians, the cause of which is unknown at this stage, and have many seriously injured people.”

At least one firefighter was also injured while fighting the flames, according to American media.

At dawn, a vast billow of smoke rose above Los Angeles, with the acrid smell of burning in the air.

City Mayor Karen Bass warned on X Wednesday that “the windstorm is expected to worsen throughout the morning.”

Warm Santa Ana winds, typical of the Californian winter, are expected to blow up to 100 mph in the region on Wednesday, according to the US Weather Service (NWS). Enough to spread the flames very quickly and pose a “mortal danger”.

Firefighters must fight on several fronts: Tuesday evening, a fire broke out near Pasadena, north of Los Angeles, and quickly ravaged more than 400 hectares, according to the CalFire agency.

A third is burning around Santa Clarita, north of the megalopolis.

Close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday on his social network X that “these fires are easily preventable, but absurd regulations in California prevent any action.”

The day before, President Joe Biden approved federal aid for the second largest city in the United States.

To access the fire in Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood populated with multimillion-dollar villas, firefighters had to use bulldozers to clear dozens of vehicles abandoned on the roadway – including expensive BMW, Tesla and Mercedes models -, leaving crushed carcasses with blaring alarms on the side of the road.

Actor James Woods posted a video on social media on Tuesday showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his home as he prepared to evacuate.

“I couldn’t believe our lovely little house in the hills lasted this long. “It’s like losing a loved one,” Mr. Woods wrote.

Events have been canceled across the region due to the fires.

The nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG), awards from the American actors’ union, considered a good indicator for the Oscars, were thus announced by press release and not during a ceremony, as initially planned.

The premiere of Jennifer Lopez’s new film, “Unstoppable,” which was scheduled for Tuesday evening, was also canceled.

Large winter fires are very rare in California. The University of Louvain’s disaster database has only recorded two since 2000: the Thomas Fire in 2017 (1,102 km²) and the Gavilan Fire in 2002, much less extensive (23 km²) but which had caused evacuations and minor injuries.

Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.