Winds ease as firefighters battle Los Angeles fires that leave five dead and 100,000 evacuated while Hollywood is threatened

At least six fires hit the county of Los Angeleswhich recorded its last fire outbreak in the mountains of Hollywoodwhich forced new evacuation orders to be issued due to the accidents that left at least five dead, dozens of injured and more than 1,000 structures consumed by flames. (Album: The most shocking images)

The ferocious winds that drove the flames and caused chaotic evacuations have calmed down a bit and is not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress in controlling the flames that have ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena.

More than 100,000 people had to be evacuated because dry, hurricane-force winds hampered extinguishing operations and spread the fires, which have burned through parched terrain almost unimpeded since they began on Tuesday.

Four of the fires are out of control and two of them, Palisades and Eaton, total nearly 11,000 hectares burned, according to the California Department of Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.

The fire in Hollywood Hills area, known as Sunsetbroke out around six in the afternoon local time (02:00 GMT time), less than two hours later it had already burned 8 hectares of vegetation and so far it has affected 20 hectares.

Aerial images from KTLA television showed several structures that had been hit by rapidly spreading flames.

Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order in the iconic area delimited by Mulholland Drive y Hollywood Boulevard, threatening some historic sites on the popular Walk of Fame, such as the Chinese Palace, which along with neighboring businesses began the eviction of one of the most touristic areas of the city. Before 24 hours had passed since the start of the raging fire, the mayor of Los Angeles said that Evacuation orders lifted in Hollywood.

Oscar nominations postponed

Within that area is the Dolby Theaterwhere the Oscars are held. The announcement of next week’s Oscar nominations has been postponed by two days (from January 17 to January 19) due to the fire, according to organizers.

The Sunset Fire burned just above Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame. You would have to cross Highway 101 to endanger the sign. Hollywood and the Griffith Observatory, further up in the hills.

“Immediate threat to life. This is an order to evacuate now.”alerted the Los Angeles fire department. Neighbors gathered on Hollywood Boulevard to watch the flames.

“I am very nervous, scared by everything that has happened in other places,” Sharon Ibarra, 29, who lives two blocks from the area under evacuation, told AFP. “We didn’t expect to have it so close, it was on television (…) The truth is that we are scared,” he added.

At least 210 firefighters have responded quickly to the incident, some even attacking it from the air, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told ABC.

Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Erik Scott said they were able to keep the fire under control because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little kinder to us today than yesterday,” reports AP.

This new fire represents more work for those close to 10,000 Los Angeles County firefighters They have been overcome by the flames fueled by the Santa Ana winds, which reached maximum speeds of 160 kilometers per hour.

Authorities were forced to extend evacuation orders for residents of cities affected by the outbreak on Wednesday night. the Eaton fire, where the five dead were located that have been reported so far.

“This firestorm is the biggest,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference after rushing back to Los Angeles after cutting short an official trip to Ghana.

Biden cancels his trip to Italy

Joe Biden, who declared the fires once serious catastrophejoined the governor of California, Gavin Newsomat a Santa Monica fire station to follow the evolution of the fire. In his final days as president, Biden canceled an upcoming trip to Italy in order to focus on directing the federal response to the fires, according to the White House.

“We are doing whatever and as long as necessary to contain these fires and ensure a return to normality,” Biden said at the fire station. “It’s going to be a very long road. It’s going to take time.”

smoking ruins

In West Los Angeles, the fire Palisades consumed 6,406 hectares and hundreds of structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, descending through Topanga Canyon until reaching the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. Aerial video from KTLA showed smoldering homes in Pacific Palisades, with the grid of smoke occasionally interrupted by orange flames from another home still burning.

To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the fire Eaton another 4,289 hectares, another 1,000 structures and the death of at least five people were claimed, according to authorities.

The private company AccuWeather estimated the initial damages and the economic losses of more than 50 billion dollars. “We are facing a historic natural disaster,” he said. Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, declared at a press conference that “this cannot be stated strongly enough.”

Although forecasters said winds would briefly ease Wednesday night, it was expected to red alert conditions remain until Friday.

Nearly 300,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity supply in Los Angeles County, up from nearly a million who had stayed on Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Las Classes have been suspended throughout Los Angeles County, at least until Thursdaysaid Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

“We’ve had fires in recent years, but not something like this,” Frances Colella, a 71-year-old retiree, told Reuters at an evacuation center in Pasadena, resting in a wheelchair alongside dozens of people. “It’s a really sad event and I don’t remember anything like this.”

water shortage

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone explained in a press conference that firefighters from six other states were being transferred to Californiawhile another 250 fire companies with 1,000 personnel were being transferred from Northern California to the South.

The water shortage caused some irrigation hydrants to stay dry in the residential area of Pacific Palisades, As reported by authorities: “We have taken the system to the extreme. We are fighting a wildfire with urban water systems,” Janisse Quinones, executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a news conference.

Pacific Palisades relies on three tanks that hold about a million gallons (3.78 million liters) each, and the demand for water to fight the fires was making it difficult to refill the water tanks, he said.

By Wednesday afternoon, the three tanks and 114 reservoirs throughout the city were already full, Quiñones said in a subsequent press conference.

The fires came at an especially vulnerable time for Southern California, which has not seen significant rain for months. Then came the powerful Santa Ana winds, which brought dry desert air from the east into the coastal mountains, fanning wildfires as they blew over the peaks and down the canyons.

Scientists say these fires, which broke out outside the traditional wildfire season, are the latest example of extreme weather conditions that will likely continue to increase as global temperatures continue to rise in the coming decades.