MARIO TAMA / Getty Images via AFP
A helicopter sprays the flames that took over Hollywood Hill in Los Angeles on January 8, 2025.
UNITED STATES – At least five people died in the ferocious fires raging this Thursday, January 9 around Los Angeles and now threatening the Hollywood district, whose residents have been ordered to evacuate.
Authorities on Wednesday ordered residents of this historic neighborhood to evacuate due to a new fire that broke out a few hundred meters from Hollywood Boulevard. “Immediate threat to life. This is a legal order to LEAVE NOW. The area is legally closed to public access”said the Los Angeles firefighters.
Traveling in California, American President Joe Biden canceled the trip which was to take him to Italy on Thursday due to the fires, the White House announced. Around 1,500 buildings were destroyed and more than 100,000 residents of the American megacity were forced to flee in the face of the flames. A toll which could further increase, according to the authorities.
Los Angeles is swept by “hurricane-force winds combined with extreme drought conditions”summarized Mayor Karen Bass during a press briefing Wednesday evening. The gusts, which blew up to 160 km/h on Wednesday, sometimes carry embers for kilometers.
Four fires rage on the hills at the same time
A first fire broke out Tuesday morning in the hills of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which is home to celebrities and many multi-million dollar villas. Since then, outbreaks have multiplied and often explode very quickly, within a few minutes.
After the San Fernando Valley and Altadena, a new fire broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, a few hundred meters from the famous Boulevard of Stars.
The artery quickly filled with stressed motorists, stuck in traffic and trying to evacuate under the horns, AFP journalists noted.
“We don’t have enough firefighters in Los Angeles County to deal with this situation”lamented Anthony Marrone, the Los Angeles County fire chief. Altadena, located north of Los Angeles, looks like a recently bombed area, with buildings still burning and homes reduced to ashes.
The fires caused the cancellation of many film premieres and closures of sites, such as that of the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
The Oscar nominations, which were to take place on January 17, were postponed until the 19th. The Critics Choice Awards ceremony which was to be held on Sunday was also postponed, and the nominations for the SAG Awards (SAG), the actors’ union awards Americans, were announced by simple press release.
Several Hollywood celebrities are among the tens of thousands of people ordered to evacuate. Known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the saga « Star Wars »Mark Hamill announced on Instagram that he had to leave his house in Malibu, a city popular with stars, on Tuesday.
Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. Warnings that now resonate in the flesh of Angelenos.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.fr
