Since January 7, Los Angeles County in California has been ravaged by a gigantic fire which remains out of control to this day. Hollywood, Malibu and even Pacific Palisades… Several famous places, engulfed in flames, are gradually being transformed into landscapes of desolation.
Of Hollywood in Pacific Palisades, there is nothing left. Since Tuesday, January 7, seven fires have raged in Los Angeles County in California, ravaging entire sections of the American megalopolis, the second largest city in the United States.
In photographs and videos of the disaster, some streets have been completely wiped off the map and others have become ghosts. In some places, debris and piles of burned objects still litter the ground, while thick black smoke covers the sky with the acrid smell of burning in the air.
A final report, still very provisional, shows at least ten deaths, according to data provided by the Los Angeles County forensic services this Friday, January 10. Many residents have already been evacuated, 100,000 according to the first figures released by the American authorities on Thursday January 9.
Yesterday, during a meeting at the White House, US President Joe Biden described the violent fires in Los Angeles as the “most devastating” in California’s history and promised federal resources to deal with them.
“The flames have engulfed our dreams”
A first fire broke out Tuesday morning in the hills of the upscale Pacific Palisades district, which is home to many celebrity villas. Nestled on the heights of Los Angeles, this emblematic place of California usually offers calm and a panoramic view of the coastline.
But the violent winds and drought continued to fuel an exceptional and impressive giant blaze destroying everything in its path. In aerial photographs, no house, no garden, no car was spared by the flames.
In total, more than 9,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have already been damaged or destroyed by the fires according to Los Angeles Times. 5,300 of them died in the Pacific Palisades fire, while 4,000 to 5,000 others were engulfed by the flames currently affecting the town of Altadena and its region.
Altadena, located north of Los Angeles, now resembles a recently bombed area, with buildings still burning and homes reduced to ashes. William Gonzales returned to see his home, evacuated the day before. He told AFP “having lost almost everything”: “the flames have engulfed our dreams. There is nothing left but ashes here.”
Charred vehicles, destroyed houses, palm trees devoured by the flames… To the west, Malibu was also not spared from the passage of the fires. The seaside city, so coveted for its heavenly beaches and its gigantic coastline, now reveals an apocalyptic landscape.
While firefighters rush to put out the blazes, sumptuous villas end up burning facing the sea.
Hollywood hit hard
Wednesday evening, it was Hollywood’s turn to be engulfed in flames. A new fire – dubbed the “Sunset Fire” by locals – broke out in the hills of the illustrious cinema district, near the famous Hollywood Boulevard and Chinese Theater.
The artery known for its stars quickly filled with stressed motorists, stuck in traffic and trying to evacuate under the horns, noted AFP journalists.
“I’m very nervous, scared by everything that happened elsewhere,” Sharon Ibarra, 29, told AFP among the blocked cars.
Not far from there, the fire also came dangerously close to the giant letters “Hollywood”, which sit on Mount Lee, reported the American channel CBS News.
As haggard residents looked on, helicopters sprayed water on the Hollywood Hills to fight the fires which, according to mainstream American media, would be the most destructive ever seen in Los Angeles.
Faced with the spread of fires, the entire cinema industry was disrupted. Several film and series shoots were interrupted and the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park closed.
The Oscar nominations, which are due to take place on January 17, have been pushed back to the 19th. The Critics Choice Awards ceremony which was to be held on Sunday has also been postponed, and the nominations for the SAG Awards (SAG), the actors’ union awards Americans, were announced by simple press release
8,000 firefighters deployed
California Governor Gavin Newscom announced in his latest situation update this Friday that around “8,000 people” were now “deployed to fight fires and ensure public safety” in the south of the state ravaged by the flames.
“We are doing everything we can – including our National Guard members – to protect residents in the days to come,” he promised.
On Thursday, the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) clarified to ABC News that nearly 800 inmates were also mobilized on the ground to support the firefighters. Some of their tasks include cutting fire lines, removing stored fuel that could obstruct the firefighters’ path, or helping to deliver relief supplies.
This use of inmates to fight fires is nothing new in California. The state’s backup program provides for the use of volunteer inmates when there is a fire or during various kinds of natural disasters.
For their part, residents were urged by authorities to save water, as three reservoirs supplying fire hydrants were emptied by the fight against flames in Pacific Palisades.
“Fighting these fires with urban water systems is a real challenge,” said the head of the municipal water and electricity service (LADWP), Janisse Quinones.
In addition to the winds, meteorologist Daniel Swain points in particular to “the lack of rain and the abnormal heat and drought for six months” to explain these disasters.
President Joe Biden, traveling to California, visited a barracks in Santa Monica on Wednesday before returning to Washington. The day before, he had released federal aid to facilitate the fight against the flames.
The American head of state canceled a trip to Italy planned for January 9 to 12 “in order to focus on managing the entire federal response in the days to come,” said the spokesperson for the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre.
Fires favored by the climatic context
While the fires are far from being contained, several explanations are put forward in order to understand the scale of such a disaster. The flames are moving at lightning speed, spread by winds which have reached nearly 130 km/h and sometimes even more than 160 km/h in certain hilly or mountainous areas. These are what Californians call the Santa Ana winds.
In addition to Santa Ana winds drying out vegetation, the Los Angeles area experienced an exceptionally dry winter. In 2022 and 2023, the winter periods were, conversely, particularly wet, causing significant vegetation growth.
This year, much of Southern California was hit by drought again. From July 1 to January 5, only four millimeters of water fell on central Los Angeles, far from seasonal norms.
Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. Warnings that now resonate in the flesh of Angelenos.
“It’s probably climate change that’s affecting everything. I’m sure that added to it all,” sighs Debbie Collins, in front of her store threatened by flames in Altadena. “The world is really bad and we need to do more.”
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