Wildfires continue to rage across Southern California, killing at least five people and prompting more than 180,000 evacuation orders as flames engulfed swaths of L.A. neighborhoods.
So far more than 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed as experts say Los Angeles is not out of danger yet, and the fires could be the costliest wildfire disaster in American history.
First hit by the flames was the city’s exclusive coastal Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, while a second fast-moving wildfire engulfed the inland foothills of LA’s northeast – with climate change-induced low rainfall levels and higher than average local temperatures intensifying the inferno.
The Palisades Fire initially erupted Tuesday morning near the Pacific Palisades, a partly coastal residential area in northwestern Los Angeles. It began as a brush fire that spiraled out of control because of ongoing high winds in the region.Â
The Palisades Fire quickly consumed about 11.6 square kilometres of land, sending up a dramatic plume of smoke visible across the city and from orbiting satellites.
Roads were clogged in both directions as evacuees fled down toward the Pacific Coast Highway.
In the desperate race to get to safety, roads were clogged and scores of people abandoned their vehicles and ran to safety.
Sheila Kelliher, a Los Angeles County Fire Department captain, told people in evacuation zones to heed officials’ instructions and ‘get out when those warnings come,’ on ‘CBS Mornings’.
‘Pack up, get ready to go,’ Kelliher said. Referencing those who abandoned their cars on roads blocked by traffic when evacuations got underway, she said: ‘Sometimes, as you can see, the cars had to be left behind and a lot of times just even getting out on foot, you’ve got to get going.’
The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path, according to the LAFD.
The area is home to Hollywood A-listers such as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Ben Affleck.
Appeal for Help
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help fight the flames that were being pushed by winds reaching 97 kilometres per hour and grounding emergency firefighting aircraft for a period.
The California department of corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) has deployed 783 imprisoned firefighters. The incarcerated crews are working alongside the California’s 2,000 firefighters, who have been stretched thin by the sweeping fires.
California, has long relied on prisoners for its emergency fire response. The CDCR crews have at times accounted for as much as 30 per cent of the wildfire force in the state.
Despite best efforts, the biggest blazes remain uncontained – with weather conditions and the underlying impact of climate change expected to continue fanning flames for days to come.
Taking to X, US President Joe Biden said that he was ‘frequently’ being briefed on the fires and was offering full federal support to help suppress the blaze. He advised those affected to ‘stay vigilant’ and ‘listen to local officials’.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was attending the naming of a national monument in the southern part of the state, made a detour to see ‘firsthand the impact of these swirling winds and the embers’ and he said he found ‘not a few — many structures already destroyed’. He declared a state of emergency on Tuesday January 7th.
A 25-year-old female firefighter and ‘multiple burn victims’ are among the injured, LAFD spokesperson Erik Scott said.
Several Hollywood events have been cancelled, including the premieres of Unstoppable, starring Jennifer Lopez and the Ryan Gosling-produced Wolf Man.
