At least five people have died, four firefighters have been injured and more than a thousand homes have been destroyed in devastating wildfires fanned by high winds that have ravaged the Los Angeles area, officials said.
Several wildfires are currently raging in the Los Angeles area. The largest of them, in the Palisade neighborhood, has destroyed more than 17,000 acres as of Thursday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A state of emergency was declared in the city, and more than 130,000 people were either evacuated or ordered to prepare for it.
Along with a thousand burned houses, so many non-residential buildings were also burned. Officials say more than 37,000 buildings in the region are threatened by the flames.
Extinguishing fires in difficult-to-access terrain is hindered by winds blowing at lightning speeds.
And some celebrities were left without their homes.
Actor Billy Crystal and hotel heiress Paris Hilton have both publicly announced that their homes have burned down.
Jamie Lee Curtis, James Woods, Mark Hamill and Mariah Shriver are other celebrities who have been forced to flee their homes.
Shriver, a journalist and former first lady The California lady, who was married to then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, described the devastating extent of the destruction.
“Our neighborhood is gone,” she wrote on social media on Wednesday. “Firefighters are doing their best, but this fire is huge and beyond control.”
Woods, a two-time Oscar nominee and three-time Emmy winner, recounted fleeing his Palisades home as the flames burned “like hell.”
“One day you’re swimming in the pool, and the next day it’s all gone,” he said.Another fire broke out Wednesday night in the famed Hollywood Hills neighborhood and parts of the neighborhood had to be evacuated.
This brought the fires closer to the city center. Firefighting planes and helicopters are in constant use to prevent the flames from spreading to the densely populated Hollywood district.
Residents shocked by the extent of the fire
Biden declared the fire-ravaged region a disaster area. The president’s action makes federal funds available to those affected by wildfires.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “California has thousands of people on the ground fighting wildfires. The state will leave no stone unturned to protect the California community.”
Biden canceled a planned trip to Italy and a meeting with Pope Francis due to wildfires.
According to American media, the wildfires are one of the worst in the history of Los Angeles.
Local residents are also shocked: “It’s like Armageddon,” the owner of the bakery told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
Videos from the disaster area show thick smoke billowing over the city, with many residents wearing masks.
All schools are closed and events are canceled as the fires ravage in their wake, with homes reduced to rubble and trees charred.
In areas where the fires are still raging, huge flames reach several meters in height, lighting up the sky.
The Hollywood business was also affected, the critics’ awards were postponed and movie premieres were canceled. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has delayed the announcement of Oscar nominees.
