The fires have turned the sky orange, caused widespread power outages and created panic as traffic jams worsened.
On January 9, Reuters reported that the fierce wildfires around Los Angeles (California, USA) have spread to the film capital of Hollywood, burning down many homes of stars. Other fires in the area have killed at least 5 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. More than 100,000 people were forced to evacuate when dry and hot winds, blowing like hurricanes, hindered firefighting operations and caused the fires to spread.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the situation “unprecedented” and ordered 1,400 firefighters to participate in extinguishing the fire. A new fire in Hollywood has forced more evacuations, bringing the total number of active wildfires in Los Angeles County to six. Four of those are under control, according to state officials, including two large blazes on the east and west sides of the city that continued to spread overnight.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has issued an evacuation order for areas south of Hollywood Boulevard, north of Mulholland Drive, east of the 101 Freeway and west of Laurel Canyon Boulevard. These are iconic entertainment venues, including the Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars. The Oscar nomination announcement has been postponed for two days due to the fire.
The devastating fire also spread to the upscale coastal area of Los Angeles, burning down many homes of Hollywood stars. Celebrities such as Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman and Miles Teller were among the residents who had to evacuate. Many mansions worth tens of millions of dollars were destroyed, while dozens of others anxiously waited for news about the status of their assets.
The fires occurred in the context of Southern California experiencing a particularly dry period, with no significant rainfall for many months. Strong winds from the east, carrying dry desert air, blew over the coastal mountains, stimulating the fire to spread quickly through the hilltops and canyons.
Scientists say that these fires breaking out outside the traditional wildfire season are a sign of increasing extreme weather, linked to global warming in the coming decades.
President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the Santa Monica fire station to update on firefighting efforts. Mr. Biden declared this a major national disaster and affirmed: “We are doing everything we can and will continue to work to control these fires… to make sure everything gets back to normal. It’s going to be a long journey and it will take time.”
In the final days of his term, before transferring power to President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, Mr. Biden canceled a trip to Italy to focus on directing the federal response to this disaster.
