ITV News correspondent Robert Moore reports from Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, where deadly wildfires are burning properties to the ground
At least five people have died and hundreds of thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes as a new wildfire sweeps through the famed Hollywood Hills, adding to five others already raging in Los Angeles.
Fanned by strong winds, wildfires have swept through Los Angeles since Tuesday, turning its star-studded streets into a “hellscape” and forcing more than 130,000 people to evacuate their neighbourhoods.
The fires started in the city’s Pacific Palisades area before other blazes started to pop up in surrounding areas. Due to the winds, more than 1,400 firefighters struggled to make any significant progress in quelling the blazes.
Where are the active fires?
- Hollywood Hills – Home to many of America’s A-list celebrities, Hollywood Hills became the sixth neighbourhood hit by a wildfire on Wednesday evening. Dubbed the Sunset Fire by the LA Fire Department, it spread to about 20 acres in under an hour near Runyon Canyon.
- Olivas – A fifth fire erupted in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, and is currently burning about 11 acres of land
- Lidia – This fire near Acton, north of Los Angeles, has burned more than 340 acres and is 40% contained.
- Hurst – Located just north of San Fernando, the fire began on Tuesday night and has since grown to 700 acres. Firefighters have contained 10% of the blaze.
- Eaton – Burning in the northern parts of Los Angeles County, the Eaton fire has now scorched 10,600 acres with 0% containment, according to authorities.
- Palisades – This is the first fire to break out on Tuesday that has burned nearly 16,000 acres in Los Angeles, including areas in Pacific Palisades, with 0% containment.
ITV News correspondent Robert Moore said some of the homes in Los Angeles are “long lost to the fire”, but others can still be saved.
“These are magnificent properties overlooking the Pacific Ocean,” he said, reporting from the scenes of devastation in Pacific Palisades.
“But then just a few metres on, you see the real hellscape taking place here because, here, a number of properties and structures have been lost.”
He added that properties are facing “total destruction”.
Authorities have said nearly 1,900 structures have been destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, and the number is expected to increase.
In the city of Pasadena, near Los Angeles, Fire Chief Chad Augustin reported that the city’s water system was strained and further impacted by power outages.
However, he added that even without these challenges, firefighters could not have contained the blaze due to intense winds.
“Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire,” he said.
Although most have fled, residents in Pasadena are still facing challenges.
The city has issued an urgent alert advising them to drink only bottled water due to unsafe drinking water in areas affected by recent evacuations.
It said the Pasadena Water and Power system may be compromised by “debris and elevated turbidity”.
On Wednesday, the city’s Police Chief, Jim McDonnell, described the situation facing emergency services as a “tragic time in our history”.
‘We couldn’t breathe anymore’
Air quality across southern California has deteriorated to “hazardous” levels, with smoke and ash making the air worse than that in New Delhi, India, a city notorious for its air pollution.
Some residents fled not just because of the flames but because the smoke was so thick they couldn’t breathe.
Tony Espinoza and his family evacuated their home despite keeping doors closed and running HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters.
“We couldn’t breathe anymore… We had all the filters going in the house, the HEPA filters and nothing seemed to work,” he told the US news outlet KSNV.
Authorities have now warned that people are at risk of smoke particles penetrating deep into their lungs, further increasing health concerns.
“Particle pollution can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems such as heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks, and difficulty breathing,” the South Coast Air Quality Management District said.
Celebrities lose their homes
Media personality Paris Hilton and actors Billy Crystal, Anna Faris, John Goodman, Cary Elwes, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag are among the many celebrities who lost their homes in the fires.
Hilton said she was “heartbroken beyond words” to see her Malibu home “burn to the ground on live TV” as she watched the news with her family – including her son Phoenix and daughter London.
“This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London,” she said in a post on Instagram.
“While the loss is overwhelming, I’m holding onto gratitude that my family and pets are safe.”
Meanwhile, Crystal, and his wife Janice, confirmed their home of 46 years was destroyed in the blaze.
“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” the couple said in a joint statement.
“Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away.
“We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this.”
The Oscars nominations announcement has also been delayed, as members of the Academy, who vote on the nominees, have been impacted by the fires.
The fires began shortly after the start of a Santa Ana windstorm that the National Weather Service said was the strongest to hit Southern California in more than a decade.
However, winds on Thursday are now not expected to be as intense as earlier in the week, but ongoing dry air and persistent drought conditions could allow new spot fires to spread rapidly and uncontrollably.
The head of the service described the fires as “one of the worst situations that we’ve ever seen”.
“For Thursday night and Friday, winds will be slightly stronger, with gusts of 40 mph to 55 mph, and isolated gusts up to 70 mph possible in favoured foothills and peaks,” the weather service said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also issued an executive order that takes measures to support those affected by the fires, following declaring a state of emergency on Tuesday.
The move comes soon after Biden approved a major disaster declaration to bolster federal assistance.
“We are putting all available resources behind fighting these wildfires, including leveraging local and federal assets. California has thousands of boots on the ground working to combat these fires,” Biden said.
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