Los Angeles firefighters battle wildfires as communities burn

Los Angeles: Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.

Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day.

That could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

The latest flames broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, striking closer to the heart of the city and the roots of its entertainment industry and putting densely populated neighbourhoods on edge during exceptionally windy and dry conditions.

But only about a mile away, the streets around the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were bustling, and onlookers used their phones to record video of the blazing hills.

Within a few hours, firefighters had made major progress on the Sunset Fire in the hills. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt Erik Scott said they were able to keep the fire in check because “we hit it hard and fast and mother nature was a little nicer to us today than she was yesterday.”

A day earlier, hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, igniting block after block in the coastal neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades as well as in Altadena, a community near Pasadena that is about 25 miles east. Aircraft had to be grounded for a time because of the winds, hampering firefighting efforts.

Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes — called the Palisades and Eaton fires — and the number is expected to increase. The five deaths recorded so far were from the Eaton Fire.

Some 130,000 people have been put under evacuation orders, as fires have consumed a total of about 42 square miles — nearly the size of the entire city of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history.

As flames moved through his neighbourhood, Jose Velasquez sprayed down his family’s Altadena home with water as embers rained down on the roof. He managed to save their home, which

also houses their family business selling churros, a Mexican pastry. Others weren’t so lucky. Many of his neighbors were at work when they lost their homes. California’s wildfires, driven by high winds and dry conditions, caused widespread destruction.

Thousands of homes, including those of celebrities like Mandy Moore and Billy Crystal, were lost.

The flames spread rapidly through densely populated areas, forcing mass evacuations, including 300 nursing home residents.

Satellite images showed neighbourhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades reduced to rubble. Climate change has lengthened fire seasons, with rising temperatures causing fires to extend into winter.

Landmarks such as Malibu’s Reel Inn were damaged. Governor Newsom deployed National Guard troops, and President Biden issued a federal emergency declaration.

More than 250,000 people were left without power.