More than 30,000 people were displaced from their homes in . The winds blowing in the area combined with the drought favor the spread of the fire which is burning on three fronts.
Yesterday California Governor Gavin Newsom declared the region a state of emergency. Many buildings were destroyed and nearly 12,000 acres were reduced to ashes in Pacific Palisades, the , officials say. Many movie and music stars live in the area.
The mass evacuation caused traffic chaos. It is characteristic that many abandoned their cars and continued on foot, which created an even bigger problem.
At least two dead, many injured
Two civilians have died in the Eaton Fire — burning in the Angeles National Forest, in Los Angeles County’s Altadena area and in Pasadena — County Fire Chief Anthony Marone said Wednesday morning.
There were also “several significant injuries” and more than 100 structures destroyed by the fire, Marone said. The cause of the Eaton fire is also unknown and under investigation, he said.
They are asking citizens to go to special shelters
For her part, the mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, rushing to the shelters that the authorities have set up if necessary.
“Stay alert and stay safe,” the official wrote in a post on X, noting that the storm is expected to worsen in the morning. The National Weather Service noted in recommendations it issued: “This is an especially dangerous situation for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.”.
Police in Los Angeles County are prioritizing the safety of residents affected by the fires and those working to contain the fire, Sheriff Robert Luna said, adding that many officials are “engaging in life-saving measures.”
“We are in constant communication with both our fire and law enforcement partners throughout Los Angeles County and beyond to ensure that all available resources that are needed are deployed strategically and effectively, but we give priority in life above anything else,” said Luna.
At least three fronts
A second fire, the Eaton Fire, broke out 50 kilometers away in Altadena, near Pasadena, and its size has grown from 800 to 4,000 acres in just a few hours.
At least 100 inmates from a nursing home in Pasadena were evacuated, CBS News reported. Video footage showed elderly people, many in wheelchairs and on stretchers, gathered in a smoke-filled parking lot amid gale-force winds as fire engines and ambulances waited to pick them up.
Fire officials said a third blaze, the Hurst Fire, started in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, prompting the evacuation of residents. That fire has grown to 2,020 acres from 400 acres earlier, according to Cal Fire.
Major damage to homes and infrastructure
More than 210,000 homes and businesses in Los Angeles County were without power last night, according to data from PowerOutage.us. Eyewitnesses spoke of homes engulfed in flames, fire closing in on their cars as they fled the hills of Topanga Canyon.
Local media reported that the fire spread north, burning homes near Malibu. Authorities have issued evacuation orders in parts of Malibu and Santa Monica.
Burn victims received first aid after walking to Duke’s restaurant in Malibu at night, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing an official.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley said earlier at a news conference that more than 25,000 people from 10,000 homes had been evacuated.
In footage broadcast by television networks, firefighting planes took water from the sea to pour on the burning houses. Bulldozers removed abandoned cars from roads to allow ambulances and other emergency services vehicles to pass.
See photos of the fire fronts
