The Los Angeles fire forces the evacuation of 30,000 residents and spreads uncontrollably

The worst omens of the authorities regarding the warning of strong winds in Southern California are coming true. A fire out of control is spreading panic in West Los Angeles, with thousands of people under evacuation orders in Pacific Palisades, cars abandoned in the middle of the avenue due to the proximity of the flames and another hundreds of thousands of residents in Santa Monica waiting to know whether or not they will have to evacuate. So far, some 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures are at risk of burning.

“I just talked to my husband and he asked me to put the passports in a bag and disconnect the computer from the wall, in case we have to run,” Verónica Castagno shares with EL MUNDO from her home in Santa Monica. “This is crazy. I’m very nervous. And the worst thing is that it’s moving at high speed and strong winds are forecast until tomorrow morning. I already see the smoke in my garden. “I don’t think I can sleep.”

Several houses have been destroyed in the Pacific Palisades area, an upper-class coastal community where about 24,000 people live and where five square kilometers of land have already burned. What began with an area of ​​about 80,000 square meters at 11 in the morning multiplied by 10 in a matter of an hour and authorities believe the worst is yet to come. Wind gusts of up to 160 kilometers per hour, the worst in a decade, are expected until midday Wednesday.

The fire has already stopped scenes of panic and blocked roads. On the famous Sunset Boulevard, one of the main arteries of Los Angeles that reaches the Pacific coast, several people were forced to leave their cars abandoned to escape the fire, making the road impassable and forcing the authorities to move some vehicles with an excavator to enable it again.

Up to 419,000 people in Southern California could be affected by power outages to prevent new fires from breaking out, particularly in areas such as the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys, where winds are expected to blow especially hard. All this after a fire broke out last month in a nearby area, in Malibu, which destroyed nine houses and devastated more than 20 square kilometers.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, has declared a state of emergency, and the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has already traveled to the area, asking that evacuation orders be respected. “I have seen firsthand the impact of this fire. Many structures have already been destroyed,” he said at a news conference. “It’s a reminder of how serious this is.”

Newsom thanked the quick reaction of President Joe Biden, visiting California, to provide the necessary help to combat the flames. At the moment, 250 firefighters are fighting the flames. The Los Angeles police, for their part, have confirmed the presence of 100 officers in the area to control traffic and facilitate evacuation efforts for residents.

As always happens in Los Angeles, several celebrities or their relatives are among those affected. Steve Kerr’s 90-year-old mother is among thousands of residents evacuated by the raging wildfire. “I want to send my thoughts and condolences to everyone in Los Angeles who is dealing with the fires,” Kerr said after losing 114-98 to Miami. “My mother lives in Pacific Palisades. She had to evacuate,” he said.

Just about 40 kilometers northeast, in Changed another fire dubbed ‘Eaton’ started Tuesday morning near a nature reserve. The flames moved so quickly that staff at one nursing home had to carry dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot where they waited in their pajamas for ambulances and other vehicles to take them to safety.