Los Angeles: Wild Fire Spreads To Hollywood Hills; Celebrities Among The Affected (X image @LeeCamp)
California, US: Blazing wild fire that engulfed Los Angeles has moved to Hollywood hills. The fire in other areas has killed at least five and the figure is feared to escalate. Hundreds of houses were destroyed and resources like water supply were stretched to its limit. Dry, and hurricane-force winds hindered firefighting operations and spread the fires. A state of emergency declared in the area, and retired fire-fighters with high experience in firefighting were also called in as the fire remains uncontained.
More than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and 70,000 evacuated already. The raging fire started to ravish LA on Tuesday. The fire remains uncontained, and wind speed appear to be higher in some areas, acting as a catalyst for the rapidly spreading blaze. More than 1,000 building were reportedly burned in the fire. Reportedly, several A-list celebrities, musicians, and other celebrities were among the thousands affected by the wildfires.
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The dry and gusty hurricane force winds causes further mayhem, as it pushes the flames and embers to hundreds of meters sparking new fires. It is spreading faster than the firefighters could quell them. Pacific Palisades, California‘s most desired real-estate, which was favoured by several Hollywood celebrities, were left an incinerating swathes as the fire rages on.
As per media report, the fire has consumed around 16,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, taking 1,000 homes and businesses with it. A separate 10,600-acre fire was burning around Altadena, north of the city, where flames tore through suburban streets.
According to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, his crews were overwhelmed by the scale and speed of the unfolding disasters. “We’re doing the very best we can. But no, we don’t have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this”. he told AFP.
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As the rages on, hydrants in Los Angeles were drying as the water supply dropped in the area. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power chief executive Janisse Quinones pleaded with people to save water after hydrants in Pacific Palisades ran dry.
“We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging,” she said.
Joe Biden, who was in Los Angeles with California Governor Gavin Newsom, was briefed on what the president called an “astounding” situation. “We’re doing anything and everything, and as long as it takes to contain these fires,” Biden told reporters.
(With inputs from agencies)
