Firefighters in California have been battling wildfires that are being driven by wind torn across Los Angeles area, destroying homes and blocking roads as tens of thousands fled, straining resources as officials prepared for the situation to worsen.
The fire that is broke out on Tuesday afternoon spread in the northeast corner of Los Angeles so quickly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot.
The residents waited in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even tow trucks arrived to take them to safety.
A fire that started hours earlier tore through the city's Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a coastal hillside area full of famous residences and remembered by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hits “Surfin' USA”.
In the rush to get to safety, the roads became impassable, as several people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some throwing suitcases.
Traffic jams prevented emergency vehicles from getting through. A bulldozer was then brought in to push abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video on the Pacific Coast Highway showed extensive destruction to homes and businesses along the famous road.
The third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. (06:30 GMT, Wednesday) and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, the northernmost district of Los Angeles. The causes of the three fires were being investigated.
Flames were being pushed by winds reaching up to 60mph (about 100km/h) in some places. Wind speeds were expected to increase overnight, producing isolated gusts that could exceed 100mph (160km/h) in the mountains and valleys – including areas that have not seen much rain. in months.
The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of putting out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. It was too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fighting.
Officials did not provide an estimate of structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were at risk. Governor Gavin Newsom visited the scene and said many homes had burned.
By evening, the flames had spread to nearby Malibu where several people were being treated for burn injuries. A firefighter was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Erik Scott.
As of Tuesday night, nearly 167,000 people were without power in Los Angeles County, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.
Recent dry winds, including the famous Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-normal temperatures in southern California, where there hasn't been much rain this season. Southern California has not seen more than 0.1 inch (2.5mm) of rain since early May.
