California firefighters have been battling wind-swept wildfires that swept through the Los Angeles area, destroying homes and clogging roads as tens of thousands fled, straining resources as officials braced for the situation to worsen.
The fire that broke out Tuesday evening in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles spread so quickly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot.
Residents waited in their bedding as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction trucks arrived to take them to safety.
A fire that broke out hours earlier ripped through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hilly area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences and remembered by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin’ USA.”
In the frantic rush to reach safety, the roads became impassable as scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some laden with suitcases.
Traffic jams prevented emergency vehicles from passing through. A bulldozer was then used to push abandoned cars out of the way and create a path. Videos along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famous road.
A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. (06:30 GMT, Wednesday) and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, the northernmost neighborhood of Los Angeles. The causes of all three fires were under investigation.
In some places, the flames were pushed forward by winds exceeding 60 miles per hour (about 100 km/h). Wind speeds were expected to increase overnight, producing isolated gusts of over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in mountains and foothills – including areas that have not seen significant rain in months.
The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of asking off-duty firefighters for help. It was too windy for firefighting planes to fly, which made the fight even more difficult.
Officials did not provide an estimate of buildings damaged or destroyed by the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but said about 30,000 residents were being evacuated and more than 13,000 structures were at risk. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the scene and said many homes burned.
In the evening, the flames spread to neighboring Malibu and several people there were treated for burn injuries. According to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott, one firefighter suffered a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital.
Nearly 167,000 people in Los Angeles County were without power as of Tuesday evening, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.
Recent dry winds, including the infamous Santa Anas, have contributed to above-average temperatures in Southern California, which has seen very little rain this season. Southern California has not received more than 2.5 mm (0.1 inch) of rain since early May.
