Thousands flee as winds drive wildfires into Los Angeles
As a brush fire soared into the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Tuesday, more than 30 000 people were forced to leave. Other areas in southern California were later threatened by additional blazes.
Fearful residents fled on foot from the nearly 3, 000-acre (1, 200-hectare) fire that engulfed an area populated by multimillion-dollar homes on one of the exclusive roads leading to and out of the upscale Pacific Palisades area.
Many vehicles were pushed to the side by firefighters who used bulldozers to make way for emergency vehicles. Many of these were left crumpled and blaring.
No deaths have been reported in the immediate wake of the chaotic evacuation, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley.
Numerous people were hurt, some of whom had burns to their hands and faces, according to a fire official, according to a fire official who spoke to KTLA. A female firefighter’s head was reportedly injured.
As crews worked through steep terrain to cut back vegetation and build firebreaks, hundreds of firefighters swarmed the area, attacking the blaze from the ground and the air.
“We are not out of danger”, said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, speaking at an afternoon media conference.
A second blaze broke out some 30 miles (50km) inland near Pasadena, and doubled in size to 400 acres (162 hectares) in a few hours, according to Cal Fire.
Nearly 100 nursing home residents in the city were forced to leave, according to CBS News.
As firetrucks and ambulances arrived, elderly residents crowded onto a crowded, windswept parking lot, many of whom were in wheelchairs and ongurneys.
Northwest of Los Angeles, fire officials reported that evacuation orders for the San Fernando Valley were prompted by a third fire.
Governor Gavin Newsom claimed that Joe Biden, the president, has approved federal funding for firefighters’ needs.
Source: Aljazeera
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