in the morning On January 7, the first of the large Los Angeles wildfires broke out in a wooded area near Topanga State Park in the city’s northwest corner. Conditions allowed the fire to spread very quickly: 100 mph winds, very low humidity, and a landscape primed to burn after months without rain caused the fire to ravage the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, located between Santa Monica and Malibu.
About 40 kilometers away, in the Eaton area of Altadena, a second fire broke out. Along with several other smaller fires, the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires have since burned more than 30,000 acres of land in Los Angeles County, destroying thousands of buildings and forcing 130,000 people to evacuate their homes.
As of Thursday morning, conditions in the Los Angeles area continued to present a high risk of fire starting and spread. Fires have engulfed entire neighborhoods and flames now threaten some of the city’s most famous landmarks, including its iconic Hollywood sign. Thousands of firefighters have been working to try to put out the flames.
Several film premieres, such as those of the Robbie Williams biopic. best manJennifer Lopez’s vehicle unstoppableand werewolfstarring Julia Garner and produced by Ryan Gosling, have been canceled due to dangerous conditions. On Thursday, California authorities ordered the evacuation of the Hollywood neighborhood after a fire broke out a few hundred meters from Hollywood Boulevard. The uncontrolled situation has also led the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to postpone the announcement of the Oscar nominations for two days.
US President Joe Biden is receiving real-time information about the situation and has offered “all necessary federal assistance” to put out the fires. “FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has approved a fire management grant to support affected areas and help reimburse the state of California for the immediate costs of fighting the fires,” the president said in a statement. on Wednesday. The fires have been declared major disaster by the president.
Despite the efforts, the largest fires (Eaton and Pacific Palisades) are still zero percent contained as of Thursday, and firefighters are running out of water. Although wind speeds have decreased from their highs earlier in the week, the fires are expected to continue spreading and causing more devastation. They are already the most destructive in California history.