Neighborhoods burned to the ground in Los Angeles fires — photos
Share
The wildfires in Los Angeles County have reached a critical level, engulfing the Hollywood Hills and causing a mass evacuation of more than 100,000 people. The fires have already claimed the lives of at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes and exhausted firefighting resources.
This was reported by Reuters.
Los Angeles is engulfed in a massive fire
New fires, including the so-called "Sunset Fire" in the Hollywood Hills, grew to 20 acres Wednesday. Authorities evacuated residents from Hollywood Boulevard, Mulholland Drive, the 101 Freeway and Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Firefighters are trying to contain the blaze with the help of helicopters, but strong winds are making it difficult.
According to Fire Chief Christine Crowley, four major fires remain uncontained and firefighting conditions remain among the worst in Southern California history.
Massive power outages in Los Angeles, firefighters lack water
More than 400,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity, and water supply in some areas dropped to a critical level. According to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the city has mobilized all available water tanks, but the massive use of hydrants has reduced the pressure in the system.
Janice Quiñones, General Manager of the Department of Water and Energy, noted that the city's water supply system is not adapted to fight such large-scale fires simultaneously.
Government response to the fires
US President-elect Donald Trump lashed out at California Governor Gavin Newsom, saying that he was to blame for the fires and should resign.
"It's all his fault!!!" he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Newsom responded by telling the CNN news anchor that he did not want to respond to Trump's statements.
"People are literally fleeing, people are losing their lives, children are losing their schools, families are completely torn apart, churches are burned down — this man wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts about what I want to say, and I won't.Today I stood next to the President of the United States of America, and I was proud to be with Joe Biden, and he had the back of every person in this community, and he didn't play politics, and he didn't try to divide any of us," the governor commented on Trump's statement.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has announced that his company SpaceX will provide free Starlink terminals to the affected areas to help restore communication in times of crisis.
The Los Angeles Fire Department emphasizes the need for additional resources to deal with the unprecedented situation. Fire Department spokesman Jacob Raabe said that in his 16-year career, he had never encountered such conditions.
"This is a historic natural disaster for which no service can be fully prepared. We've never had an experience like this before," he said.
As a reminder, the fires engulfed the famous "star" neighborhoods in Los Angeles. It became known that among those who evacuated from the devastating fire were the famous actor Ben Affleck and others.
Meanwhile, rescue operations continue in Tibet after a devastating powerful earthquake.
