Wildfires raging in and around Los Angeles have so far claimed the lives of seven people.
This is according to the chief of the fire department in Los Angeles, Kristin Crowley, on Friday night, according to the Reuters news agency.
On Thursday evening, the city’s sheriff, Robert Luna, announced that at least five people had lost their lives. He also estimated that the death toll would probably increase in the coming days.
The most recent two fatalities have lost their lives during the wildfire in Pacific Palisades. The fire here was the first to break out on Tuesday and is also the largest.
It has burned down a large part of the area and covers about 70 square kilometers. The area corresponds in size to the Danish island of Tåsinge.
A total of six fires are still active in the area around Los Angeles on the night of Friday. Firefighters managed to get partial control of two of them and, according to CBS News, full control of one of them.
Early in the night, another wildfire broke out. It happened in the West Hills area.
The fires have spread around 125 square kilometers in total. This corresponds to an area slightly larger than Læsø.
180,000 people have been evacuated. According to Reuters, Los Angeles has never experienced such violent wildfires.
The fires are forcing citizens, including celebrities, to flee their homes as they spread at a rapid pace.
The National Guard is being deployed to the areas where there are wildfires around Los Angeles, a sheriff in the big city said early Friday night, according to AFP.
The US National Guard is part of the US military. It is a reserve force tasked with supporting civil authorities, dealing with disasters and participating in military operations when necessary.
It is usually winter in the United States and in the state of California at this time of year, but unusual weather conditions have meant that there has been no significant amount of rain for eight months.
Winter also brings strong winds known as Santa Ana winds. At high speed, they bring dry and hot desert air over Southern California.
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
