Firefighters are continuing to battle the massive wildfires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, devastated many areas from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena County and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
The gusty winds that fanned the flames and prompted chaotic evacuations have eased somewhat and are not expected to be as strong today. This could allow firefighters to make progress in controlling the flames that have engulfed a vast region, including the huge fires in the "Pacific Palisades" neighborhood. and the city of Altadena.
Overnight, wildfires lit up the hills of Santa Monica above the Pacific Palisades. Houses continued to burn, but unlike the previous night, when strong winds had blown embers and fanned new fires, the flames were now mostly shooting upwards.
The latest major threat is the fire that broke out last night in the Hollywood Hills. The flames have moved closer to downtown Los Angeles and the birthplace of the entertainment industry, threatening densely populated neighborhoods. Just a mile away, the streets of the Hollywood "Hall of Fame" - The Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were bustling, and passersby used their smartphones to record video footage of the blazing hills.
Within hours, firefighters made significant progress in extinguishing the blaze on "Sunset Boulevard" near the hills with the infamous "Hollywood" sign. Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Eric Scott said they were able to control the fire because they attacked it powerfully and quickly, and nature was "more merciful" to them today than yesterday.
Hurricane winds blew embers yesterday, igniting house after house in the coastal neighborhood of "Pacific Palisades", as well as in Altadena, near Pasadena County. Winds temporarily grounded firefighting aircraft, hampering efforts to extinguish the blaze.
Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in the fires, known as the Palisades and Eaton fires, and the toll is expected to rise. The five deaths so far have come from the Eaton fire near Pasadena.
More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, and the fires have so far burned nearly 45 square miles (116 sq km), an area roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history.