LOS ANGELES: A terrifying wave of wildfires squeezing Los Angeles on multiple fronts pushed closer to the symbolic heart of the US film industry on Thursday after a new blaze ignited in the hills overlooking Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame.
The crescent of flames squeezing Los Angeles – including a huge fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and a conflagration in the east near Pasadena – was so expansive that it was visible from space as a huge pincer.
More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as dry, hurricane-force winds spread flames across parched ground that has seen no rain for months. At least five people have died since the fires erupted on Tuesday.
The homes of movie stars and celebrities were among those consumed by flames, which tore through some of the world’s most lavish real estate, and in the case of the Hollywood Hills fire, above showbiz landmarks instantly recognizable around the world.
“This firestorm is the big one,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a press conference after rushing back to the city, cutting short an official trip to Ghana.
At least six separate wildfires were burning in Los Angeles County on Thursday morning. Three of them were listed as “0% controlled,” including the Palisades fire in the west, the Eaton Fire in the east and the smaller Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills.
Red Flag warnings from the National Weather Service for Los Angeles and Ventura counties were extended through 6 p.m. Friday due to extremely low humidity and strong winds.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Captain Adam VanGerpen on Thursday told “CBS Mornings” that erratic winds were a concern, with gusts blowing embers.
Water shortages caused some hydrants to run dry in upscale Pacific Palisades, wedged between Malibu and Santa Monica, officials said. VanGerpen said firefighters were doing what they could to save lives and then focused on what they could do to save structures, whether there was water in the hydrant or water had to be shuttled in.
“We have to be prepared for anything,” he said.
The L.A. Fire Department overnight lifted most of an evacuation order that was issued due to the Sunset Fire raging just above Hollywood Boulevard. That 43-acre fire was 0% contained as of Thursday morning.
On the west side of Los Angeles, the Palisades fire consumed 17,234 acres (6974 hectares) and hundreds of structures in the hills, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday.
“We are heartbroken of course, but with the love of children and friends we will get through this,” said film star Billy Crystal and his wife Janice, announcing the Pacific Palisades home where they had lived since 1979 had been destroyed.
Media personality Paris Hilton said she was “heartbroken beyond words” after watching her beachfront house in Malibu “burn to the ground on live TV.”
Actor James Woods recounted fleeing in the face of the flames: “One day you’re swimming in the pool, and the next day it’s all gone,” he said in a TV interview. He wept as he described a niece who “came out with her little Yeti piggy bank for us to rebuild our house.”
Some residents ventured back to areas the fire had already swept through, where brick chimneys were left looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles. The remnants of a tattered and scorched American flag flapped from a pole.
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