Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people fled their homes near Los Angeles on Wednesday as three out-of-control wildfires, fuelled by hurricane-force winds, tore through the city’s suburbs, destroying dozens of houses. At least one firefighter was injured battling a blaze near the upmarket Pacific Palisades neighborhood, US media reported, with several other people suffering burns. Vicious gusts fanned the flames, whipping red-hot embers hundreds of meters (yards) and sparking new spot fires faster than helpless firefighters could quell them. As dawn broke, a vast pall of smoke was visible over Los Angeles, accompanied by the acrid tang of burning in the air.
City mayor Karen Bass warned that the “windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning” in a post on X early Wednesday. Some firefighters faced water shortages at hydrants in the Palisades, according to the Los Angeles Times, in a fire that has so far consumed almost 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares). At the 2,200-acre Eaton fire around Altadena, north of Los Angeles, an AFP journalist observed emergency workers rushing elderly patients in wheelchairs out of their care facility. A third fire was burning around Santa Clarita.
The blaze at Pacific Palisades has already claimed dozens of homes in one of California’s most desirable spots, where Hollywood celebrities live in multi-million dollar houses. Emmy-award-winning actor James Woods posted a video showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his home as he prepared to evacuate, mentioning that all the fire alarms were going off. “I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one,” Woods lamented.
Events throughout the area were canceled, including a Tuesday evening red-carpet premiere of Jennifer Lopez’s new film “Unstoppable,” while the Screen Actors Guild Award announced that Wednesday’s in-person nominations ceremony would be replaced with a press release. President Joe Biden stated late Tuesday that he was “being frequently briefed on the wildfires” and had offered federal aid if needed.
The first wildfire erupted on Tuesday morning and quickly swelled, taking many residents by surprise. Pacific Palisades resident Andrew Hires told AFP he received a text alerting him to the fire while his child was at the dentist about to have a tooth extraction. “We pulled off the mask and ran to the car,” he recalled. Trees and vegetation around the Getty Villa were burned, but the structure and collections were spared, according to the museum. The Getty, established by US oil billionaire and collector J. Paul Getty, is one of the world’s richest art museums and houses Greek and Roman antiquities in a replica Roman country home.
The fire coincided with the area being hit by seasonal Santa Ana winds, which forecasters predicted could evolve into the worst windstorm in a decade, with gusts of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour. “This looks pretty concerning,” said meteorologist Daniel Swain. Wildfires are a part of life in the US West and play a vital role in nature. However, scientists indicate that human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns. Southern California experienced two decades of drought followed by two exceptionally wet years, which sparked furious vegetative growth, leaving the region packed with fuel and primed to burn.
© 2024 AFP
