At least five people have died and more than 100,000 have been forced to flee their homes in several areas of Los Angeles, where six massive fires have already destroyed around 1,500 homes.
Authorities ordered residents of the historic neighborhood of Hollywood, in the southwestern United States, to leave their homes after a new fire broke out hundreds of meters from Hollywood Boulevard.
“Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is legally closed to public access,” said the Los Angeles Fire Department on Wednesday, which also released a map showing sections of the famous movie theater. .
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden canceled an official trip to Italy scheduled for today due to the wildfires raging in Los Angeles, the White House announced.
Biden, who traveled to Los Angeles on Wednesday to meet with emergency services, “made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to focus on managing the overall federal response in the coming days,” the spokesperson said. White House voice Karine Jean.
The Democratic president was scheduled to visit Italy by January 12, in what would likely be his last trip abroad before Republican Donald Trump returns to power on January 20.
At least five people have died and more than 100,000 have been forced to flee their homes in various areas of Los Angeles, where six massive fires have already destroyed around 1,500 homes.
Black clouds of smoke block the sun over large swaths of the city and ash falls even in neighborhoods several kilometers from the affected areas. Six schools were closed and recreation centers were turned into shelters for those who had to be evacuated.
Some Portuguese people who live in Los Angeles had to be evacuated and are staying with friends. Others are on alert because they live near areas where the fires are spreading. Many people have decided not to send their children to school due to warnings about poor air quality.
There are 160,000 homes without electricity for more than 24 hours and a state of emergency has already been declared by Los Angeles County and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who got the green light from President Joe Biden to obtain federal aid to fight the fires.
“The situation in Los Angeles is highly dangerous and rapidly evolving,” said Newsom, at a joint press conference with Joe Biden.
“President Biden’s quick action is a tremendous help to California as we do everything we can to protect residents with significant federal, local and state resources,” he added.
Firefighters have not yet managed to contain any part of the fires, which have an unpredictable path due to strong winds, which reached 160 kilometers per hour.
These are the worst winds since 2011 and the fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history.
