Major wildfires continue to devastate parts of southern California, raging through neighbourhoods in and around Los Angeles as firefighters struggle to put out the blazes.
First responders have been tasked with the logistical nightmare of containing the fires and saving homes and businesses, while also trying to help people get to safety during mass evacuation orders.
Drag the button to see before and after Maxar satellite imagery of burning and destroyed houses from the Eaton Fire near Marathon Road on Wed., Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.
Drag the button to see before and after Maxar satellite imagery of burned structures and active fire burning from the Palisades Fire in Tuna Canyon on Wed., Jan. 8, in Los Angeles.
Surreal photos of raging flames and infernos from all around Los Angeles County have been circulating online for the last three days. People of all stripes — including celebrities — are evacuating as the blazes continue to burn.
The flames earlier in the week were being driven by ferocious winds, but by Thursday morning officials were buoyed by the fact the wind was expected to calm down for the day.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said Thursday they were able to keep a fire in Hollywood Hills in check because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us today than she was yesterday.”
Approximately 2,000 structures have been destroyed, and upwards of 130,000 residents ordered to evacuate. Hundreds of thousands of people are without power in the region.
On Wednesday, hurricane-force winds blew embers, igniting block after block in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and in Altadena, a community near Pasadena. Aircraft were grounded for a time because of the winds, hampering firefighting efforts.
In Pasadena, fire Chief Chad Augustin said the city’s water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire due to the intense winds.
About 250 homes in Altadena that had been dotted with green leafy trees were reduced to rubble. Only a few homes remained, some still in flames according to images from Maxar Technologies. Just a handful of 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu appeared intact.
— With files from The Associated Press
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