in the morning On January 7, Los Angeles’ first major wildfire broke out in a forested area near Topanga State Park on the city’s northwest edge. A combination of 160 mph winds, very low humidity and a terrain that looked like it could start burning after months of no rain caused the fire to ignite in the Pacific Palisades area between Santa Monica and Malibu.
A second fire broke out about 40 kilometers away in the Eaton neighborhood of Altadena. The Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, along with several other smaller fires, have since burned more than 30,000 acres of land in Los Angeles County, destroyed thousands of buildings, and displaced 130,000 people from their homes. They were forced to evacuate.
As of Thursday morning, conditions in the Los Angeles area remain at high risk for fires to start and spread. The fire has engulfed the entire neighborhood, with flames now threatening some of the city’s famous landmarks, including the iconic Hollywood sign. Thousands of firefighters are working to contain the blaze.
Premieres of several films, including the Robbie Williams biopic bettermanJennifer Lopez’s car can’t stopand wolfmanstarring Julia Garner and produced by Ryan Gosling, was canceled due to unsafe conditions. On Thursday, California authorities ordered evacuations for the Hollywood area after a fire broke out hundreds of meters from Hollywood Boulevard. Due to uncontrollable circumstances, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has also postponed the announcement of Oscar nominations by two days.
US President Joe Biden had real-time information on the situation and offered “all necessary federal assistance” to extinguish the fire. “FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has approved a Fire Management Grant to assist affected areas and reimburse California for immediate firefighting costs,” the president said in a statement Wednesday. a fire broke out declared a major disaster by the president.
Despite efforts, the largest fires, Eaton Palisades and Pacific Palisades, remained zero containment as of Thursday, and firefighters were running out of water. Although wind speeds have slowed from their peaks earlier in the week, the fires are expected to continue spreading and causing more damage. They have already become the most destructive in California’s history.
