Addis Ababa, January 8, 2025 (FMC) – Firefighters scrambled to corral a fast-moving wildfire in the Los Angeles hillsides dotted with celebrity homes as a fierce windstorm hit Southern California on Tuesday, VOA reports. The blaze could be seen for miles as scores of residents abandoned their cars and fled on foot to safety as roads became blocked.
About 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures are under threat, said Kristin Crowley, fire chief of the Los Angeles. Fire Department.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he saw “many structures already destroyed.” Officials did not give an exact number of structures damaged or destroyed in the blaze.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, and no injuries had been reported, officials said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Newsom warned residents across Southern California not to assume they are out of danger, saying the worst of the winds are expected between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Forecasters predicted the windstorm would last for days, producing isolated gusts that could top 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months. The National Weather service said it could be the strongest Santa Ana windstorm in more than a decade across Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Roughly half a million utility customers were at risk of their power being shut off to reduce the risk of the equipment sparking blazes.
In the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in western Los Angeles, a fire swiftly consumed about 5 square kilometers (2 square miles) of land, sending up a dramatic plume of smoke visible across the city. Residents in Venice Beach, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) away, reported seeing the flames. It was one of several blazes across the area.
Sections of Interstate 10 and the scenic Pacific Coast Highway were closed to all non-essential traffic to aid in evacuation efforts. Other roads were blocked. Some residents jumped out of their vehicles to escape the danger and waited to be picked up.