Los Angeles Wildfires: 2 People Killed, Tens of Thousands Evacuate
Multiple wildfires ravaging across the Los Angeles area have killed at least 2 people and injured many others, prompting tens of thousands of people to evacuate and putting California in a state of emergency, reported the Associated Press (AP).
On Tuesday and Wednesday, three massive fires have broken out in the metropolitan area, called the Palisades fire, the Eaton fire, and the Hurst fire. Together, they have destroyed more than 1,000 structures, threatening at least 28,000 structures.
In response, the Los Angeles Fire Department deployed thousands of firefighters to combat the flames, and put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. Firefighting aircraft were not able to fly due to strong winds, making it harder to contain the flames.
The wildfires have led authorities to issue evacuation orders for at least 70,000 people. Moreover, the fires have caused over 100 schools to close. It has also cut off power to more than 400,000 customers in California, most of them in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.
In the light of this, the Los Angeles County Supervisor, Lindsey Horvath, said: “This morning, we woke up to a dark cloud over all of Los Angeles. But it is darkest for those who are most intimately impacted by these fires. It has been an immensely painful 24 hours.”
The fires advanced towards densely populated neighborhoods, home to many celebrities. These included Hollywood stars such as Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, the wildfire season in California typically begins in June or July and runs through October. However, recent data shows that this season has begun earlier and will end later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall associated with climate change.
