While California firefighters are still hard at work fighting the flames, Joe Biden affirmed Thursday that climate change was indeed “a reality”.
The two main outbreaks are still “out of control”, according to the authorities, who speak of “one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history” of the city.
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Fires in California: Los Angeles surrounded by flames
“Climate change is a reality”Joe Biden said Thursday, during a meeting at the White House devoted to the fires ravaging Los Angeles. “We have the capacity to respond if we exercise discernment”added the outgoing Democratic president, who will give way on January 20 to his elected successor Donald Trump, a notorious climate skeptic.
Minute by minute
The fire continues to ravage Los Angeles, enveloped in thick acrid smoke: the two main fires in the Californian megacity remain out of control Thursday in “critical” weather conditions.
To the west of the second largest city in the United States, a huge outbreak is raging in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood with the villas of multimillionaires and celebrities, located between Malibu and Santa Monica. It is “one of the most destructive natural disasters in history” of Los Angeles, said the city’s fire chief, Kristin Crowley, during a press conference.
This fire is not at all contained at this stage, despite the reinforcement of helicopters dropping water thanks to a temporary lull in the violent winds which fan the flames. No more than the one that devours Altadena, where at least five people died, even if its spread was “considerably stopped” during the night, firefighters said.
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“Altadena is devastated”noted Californian parliamentarian Judy Chu on a local channel, during a visit to a center where a thousand evacuated residents found refuge. “They are distraught.”
Around 180,000 people across the Californian city are still affected by an evacuation order and the weather conditions, ultra-dry and windy, remain “critical”, although less severe, insist forecasters and local authorities.
