Evacuation orders were issued to about 30,000 Los Angeles residents on Tuesday after a rapidly growing wildfire fueled by fierce winds threatened more than 13,000 structures.
Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze in hills and forests near upscale neighborhoods like Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Malibu – where hundreds of celebrities and prominent people live.
‘Many structures destroyed’ by wildfire in LA suburbs
No injuries have been reported yet, but California Governor Gavin Newsom said that “numerous structures have already been destroyed.”
With the worst winds expected between 10 pm Tuesday and 5 am local time, he warned Southern California residents not to assume they are out of danger.
“Los Angeles is currently experiencing extreme fire weather conditions with a red flag alert,” city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said during a press briefing.
“The fire is being fueled by a combination of strong winds and the surrounding topography, making it extremely challenging for our crews assigned to this incident.”
Nearly half a million people were facing power shutoffs by utility companies to reduce the risk of equipment fires.
Forecasters predict the storm could last for several days, packing winds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) in mountainous areas that have not seen significant rainfall in months.
In the exclusive Pacific Palisades neighborhood, 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Central L.A., the fire reportedly destroyed about two square miles (about five square kilometers) of land, leaving only six people in the high-end neighborhood of Venice Beach. At o’clock a cloud of smoke started appearing. Miles away.
With sections of Interstate 10 leading into the city and the scenic Pacific Coast Highway to the north closed to all non-essential traffic, many Palisades residents abandoned their cars on gridlocked streets to escape on foot.
Los Angeles residents report blocked roads
Resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was completely blocked.
“We looked and the fire had spread from one side of the road to the other side of the road,” he told The Associated Press. The Associated Press also reported fires in roofs, walls and chimneys of homes.
Trainor continued, “People were coming out of their cars with their dogs, children and bags, they were crying and screaming.” “The road was absolutely blocked, completely blocked for an hour.”
Another resident, Will Adams, said: “It’s crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One house is safe, another is in flames.”
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, explained Monday that the strong winds act as an “atmospheric blow-dryer” for vegetation.
He added, “We really haven’t seen a season as dry as this season since last season was so wet.”
President Joe Biden has had to cancel a trip inland to Riverside County due to extreme weather, and instead he will announce the establishment of two new monuments in Central Los Angeles.
The premieres of Christopher Abbott’s “Wolf Man” and Jennifer Lopez’s new film “Unstoppable” were also canceled due to the fire and high winds, according to Amazon and MGM Studios.
mf/zc (AP, AFP)
