The ferocious bushfires that have devastated America’s beloved cultural capital, Los Angeles, this week have shocked the world, but some Australians will remember that Sydney narrowly escaped the same fate thirty years ago.
Six people have died and thousands of structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Los Angeles area, particularly in the mountainous coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, making it the most destructive fire in the city’s history.
The fast-moving flames, fanned by powerful California winds, have leveled homes and businesses as thousands of residents were evacuated. smoky canyons and quaint neighborhoods that are home to many celebrities.
Scenes similar to the evacuations in Los Angeles were seen in Sydney in the hot, dry summer of 1993-94, when vegetation that had grown during heavy rains the previous year dried up as drought gripped the east coast, turning it into a powder keg
Some 20,000 firefighters battled 800 fires that broke out across New South Wales, from Sydney to the Central Coast and to the Queensland border, burning 2 million acres of bushland, leveling 225 homes and claiming four lives.
The fires were not as large as the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, which spread to Victoria, but they were just as worrying, mainly due to the fact that the inferno threatened to engulf Sydney itself.
A fire ripped through the Royal National Park bordering Sydney’s south and devastated the suburbs of Como and Jannali, while Lane Cove National Park in the north went up in flames, causing terrified residents to flee across roads and waterways.
On the central coast, Ku-ring-gai National Park was ablaze, threatening the main population center of Gosford, with the glow of flames from the walls easily visible on the horizon as night fell.
In the hot, dry summer of 1993-94, two fire fronts barreled into Sydney, scorching the suburbs and covering the sky with thick smoke.
Thousands of residents were evacuated by roads and waterways and fires were fanned by strong winds.
A wall of fire engulfed beachfront homes during the Sydney fires thirty years ago
Fires ravaged New South Wales from December 17, 1993 to January 16, 1994.
A state of emergency was declared in counties along the coast from Coffs Harbor to Tweed Heads and inland to Kyogle and Casino.
On the Central Coast, fires reached within 1.5km of the Gosford CBD.
However, the worst damage was in Sydney, where the Como and Jannali fires left 101 houses burnt to the ground in the city’s south.
The second fire front in the north of the city destroyed 13 homes and the suburbs of Chatswood, Turramurra, West Pymble, West Kilara, Lindfield and Macquarie Park are under threat.
On January 9, more than 16,000 people were waiting to be evacuated.
A relief from hot, dry winds and a combustion effort brought the fires under control in late January.
Three volunteer firefighters had died, along with a tanker truck driver when a tree branch fell on his vehicle and a woman who had taken refuge in a swimming pool.
Police in Sydney suburbs monitor fires that destroyed more than 100 properties
Residents of the village of Bundeena, 40 kilometers south of Sydney, bordering the Royal National Park, are evacuated on January 7, 1994.
The fires burned about 2 million acres of land in New South Wales, from Sydney to the Queensland border.
In Los Angeles, firefighters have managed to slow the spread of fires, but the largest fires remain out of control.
Debris has surpassed that of the November 2008 Sayre Fire in Los Angeles, which destroyed 604 structures in Sylmar, the city’s northernmost suburb, according to Wildfire Alliance statistics.
Many of the huge fires set on Tuesday were fueled by Santa Ana winds, which reached gusts of more than 70 mph in some areas.
Winds eased Thursday, but the National Weather Service warned that even reduced gusts could spread the fire quickly and the wind is expected to strengthen again Thursday night.
Another round of strong winds is possible on Tuesday and the death toll is expected to rise as crews search through the rubble.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state has deployed more than 1,400 firefighters to battle the flames, while Oregon, Washington, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona were sending crews to help.
AccuWeather estimated Wednesday that between $52 billion and $57 billion in preliminary damage and economic losses have occurred, but the fires continue to burn.
A plume of smoke from a wildfire forms over the Los Angeles city watershed on Thursday
Beachfront properties are destroyed by the Palisades Fire, in this aerial view Thursday in Malibu.
Nearly 70 square kilometers burned in Pacific Palisades, which is dotted with celebrity homes and was commemorated by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit ‘Surfin’ USA.’
The flames burned part of Palisades Charter High School and a public library, two major grocery stores, a couple of banks and several boutiques in Palisades Village.
Actor Billy Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home 45 years old.
The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena burned more than 200 structures as employees at a senior center pushed dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds into a parking lot to escape.
The Hurst Fire, which started Tuesday night, prompted evacuations in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley while Another fire broke out in Hollywood Hills on Wednesday c—Sunset Fire shouted.
It was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and other landmarks. TogetherThe fires have consumed about 117 square kilometers, about the size of San Francisco.
Robert Lara, left, searches for belongings with his stepfather after the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California.
A firefighter protects a beachfront property while battling the Palisades Fire on Thursday.
Nearly 180,000 people were ordered to evacuate Thursday morning.
The flames threatened affluent and highly populated neighborhoods, including Calabasas and Santa Monica, home to California’s rich and famous, and many Hollywood stars, such as Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, were among those forced to evacuate. flee.
The Critics Choice Awards were postponed while the Oscars extended the voting window for Academy Awards nominations and delayed the announcement of next week’s nominations.
Universal Studios also canceled filming on numerous series, the The Los Angeles Unified School District has closed schools, the NHL and NBA have postponed games while the NFL is considering it.
The authorities have declared that they will pursue looters who took advantage of the fires.
The fires have filled the air with a thick cloud of smoke, prompting air and dust alerts for 17 million people across a vast stretch of Southern California.
More than 415,000 customers were also without power in Southern California Thursday afternoon, about half of them in Los Angeles County.
And residents in some areas, including the Palisades, have been ordered to boil water before using it because debris from the fires has contaminated some water supplies.