Several fires are advancing out of control in Los Angeles driven by a wind storm of up to 160 kilometers per hour, with tens of thousands of people evacuated, hundreds of firefighters mobilized and the threat that the flames will continue to spread rapidly through residential areas. Two people have died in one of the outbreaks and several have been injured, some with “significant” injuries, according to authorities.
More than 80,000 people have had to be evacuated in the last 24 hours due to the four fires that ravage the city and have devastated more than 2,024 hectares in less than 24 hours.
The fire in Pacific Palisades, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city of stars, began this Tuesday morning. It continues to advance without control and is the largest active focus to date, it has destroyed more than a thousand structures and continues to grow, according to authorities. Residents of this neighborhood include Hollywood stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler and Michael Keaton, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Four fires
The authorities have offered this Wednesday a balance of the first victims and damages recorded. “Unfortunately, we have two recorded civilian deaths from unknown causes at this time and we have a significant number of injuries” due to the Eaton Canyon outbreak, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone reported in a press conference. . This fire broke out this Tuesday night in northern Los Angeles County and affects the city of Pasadena with special virulence.
In a matter of hours it has burned more than 809 hectares and destroyed hundreds of homes, the fire chief added. More than 50,000 people are under evacuation orders due to this fire, which continues to rage while thousands of structures are at risk from the advance of the flames.
The origin of the four current outbreaks is under investigation and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency on Tuesday afternoon. Anthony Marrone has assured that there are “not enough firefighters in Los Angeles County” to tackle four fires “of this magnitude.”
The devastating fires are “pushing the capacity of emergency services to their maximum limits,” said the city’s fire chief, Kristin Crowley.
The rapid advance of the flames threatens about 10,000 homes and about 13,000 structures, as previously reported by the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).
A third fire in Hurst has aggravated the emergency situation in the city. Firefighters have reported a fourth, smaller fire, in Tyler, Riverside County, that has burned several acres. The fire has covered the sky of the metropolis in black, which has experienced its worst night in decades, while relief teams work around the clock to contain the advance of the flames in the midst of a wind storm of up to 160 kilometers per hour.
Gusty winds are expected to persist until Thursday, which could intensify the spread of the fire, due to the city’s parched landscape that has suffered a considerable lack of rain this season.
The Biden Administration this Tuesday offered federal resources and approved emergency aid to support the affected areas in Los Angeles County. “My team and I are in contact with state and local officials and have offered whatever federal assistance is needed to contain the terrible fires in Pacific Palisades,” Biden said in a statement. In addition, the federal emergency agency FEMA approved a first aid package for fire assistance that will help the state of California face the most immediate costs in fighting the fire, according to the White House.
A spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris has said her neighborhood in Los Angeles was placed under an evacuation order Tuesday night. Ernesto Apreza says in a post on X that there was no one in the house at the time.
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, pointed out in a message on the social network X that help is coming from other parts of the state to combat active outbreaks. “Hundreds of additional firefighters are heading south to join the more than 1,400 troops on the ground,” he announced.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Monday that Southern California would be affected in the coming days by a wind storm that would mainly affect Los Angeles and Ventura counties. “High winds and low relative humidity will produce critical and extremely critical weather conditions in Southern California through Thursday,” reads an advisory on the NWS website.
The fires have broken out due to a mix of dry conditions and strong winds, which are likely to intensify overnight.
With information from EFE
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