Thousands Forced to Flee as Wildfires Rage in Los Angeles
Over 30,000 individuals were compelled to evacuate their residences as a wildfire rapidly advanced through a coastal region of Los Angeles within hours. Additionally, a second fire, located approximately 30 miles (50 km) inland, spread quickly on Wednesday. Officials reported that numerous structures were destroyed, and nearly 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares) were consumed by flames in the affluent Pacific Palisades area, situated between the beach communities of Santa Monica and Malibu. The area is known for its celebrity residents from the film and music industries. On Tuesday night, highways became congested with evacuees escaping the blaze as smoke and flames billowed into the sky above Los Angeles. By Wednesday morning, the fires remained uncontrolled, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to declare an emergency.
Cindy Festa, a resident of Pacific Palisades, recounted her evacuation experience. She stated that the flames were alarmingly close to the vehicles and illustrated the proximity with her thumb and forefinger. “People abandoned their cars on Palisades Drive. The hillside is ablaze. The palm trees—everything is going,” Festa remarked from her vehicle. A fire official informed local television station KTLA that several individuals sustained injuries in the Palisades Fire, with some suffering burns to their faces and hands. One female firefighter also incurred a head injury. Hollywood actor James Woods shared on X that he successfully evacuated his home in Pacific Palisades but expressed uncertainty regarding the status of his property, stating, “I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing.”
The second fire, the Eaton Fire, ignited approximately 30 miles (50 km) inland in Altadena, close to Pasadena, and rapidly expanded from 200 acres to 1,000 acres (400 hectares) within a few hours, as reported by Cal Fire. According to CBS News, nearly 100 residents from a nursing facility in Pasadena were evacuated. Footage depicted elderly individuals, many in wheelchairs and on stretchers, gathered in a smoky, wind-swept parking area while fire trucks and ambulances were present.Fire officials indicated that a third fire, known as the Hurst Fire, had erupted in Sylmar, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles. This led to the evacuation of some nearby residents. Data from PowerOutage.us revealed that over 220,000 homes and businesses in Los Angeles County experienced power outages late on Tuesday.
Palisades Fire
Witnesses observed several residences ablaze, with flames nearly igniting nearby vehicles as individuals evacuated the hills of Topanga Canyon, where the fire originated and subsequently advanced toward the Pacific Ocean. Local news outlets indicated that the fire had also progressed northward, incinerating properties near Malibu. Evacuation orders have been issued for some regions of Malibu and Santa Monica. According to the Los Angeles Times, citing a fire official, multiple burn victims received treatment after approaching Duke’s restaurant in Malibu during the evening hours. At a press conference, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley stated that over 25,000 individuals residing in 10,000 homes were at risk. Firefighting aircraft were seen retrieving water from the ocean to combat the flames consuming homes. Additionally, bulldozers were employed to remove abandoned vehicles from roadways, facilitating the passage of emergency response teams, as depicted in television broadcasts.
The fire caused damage to several trees on the grounds of the Getty Villa, a museum housing invaluable artworks; however, the collection remained largely unharmed due to the proactive trimming of nearby bushes, as reported by the museum. Before the fire outbreak, the National Weather Service had issued its highest warning for extreme fire conditions affecting much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday. The combination of low humidity and dry vegetation, resulting from insufficient rainfall, created conditions described as “about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather.” In response to the heightened fire risk across the region, Governor Newsom indicated that personnel, firetrucks, and aircraft had been strategically deployed throughout Southern California. The strong winds also necessitated a change in President Joe Biden’s travel itinerary, leading to the grounding of Air Force One in Los Angeles. He had intended to briefly fly to the Coachella Valley for a ceremony establishing two new national monuments in California. “I have offered any federal assistance needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire,” Biden stated.
Additionally, according to Biden, a federal grant had been approved to assist California in covering its fire response costs. Actor Steve Guttenberg shared with KTLA television that some of his friends faced difficulties evacuating due to abandoned vehicles blocking the road. “It’s essential for everybody to band together and don’t worry about your personal property. Just get out,” Guttenberg emphasized.
