Massive wildfires fueled by strong winds are raging in and around Los Angeles, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes. The blazes have sparked emergency declarations and prompted warnings from officials about worsening conditions.
Thousands have fled wildfires engulfing the suburbs of the US’s second city, as firefighters struggled to contain the flames overnight amid fears they would worsen on Wednesday morning. California officials have ordered more than 30,000 people to evacuate their homes as hillside infernos ripped through the coastal Pacific Palisades neighbourhood. People escaped by car and on foot.
Two other inland fires in the LA vicinity were also spreading fast – one in Altadena, near Pasadena, and one in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley, north-west of LA. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has declared a state of emergency. Officials warned overnight that the wind speed could increase on Wednesday morning, which would further fan the fire. “Angelenos should be advised that the windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning and to heed local warnings, stay vigilant and stay safe,” she said. The National Weather Service (NWS) had previously issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles county until Thursday. Low humidity and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain meant the conditions were “about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the service said.Gusts could reach 80mph (129km/h), the NWS said. The powerful winds have forced a change in the travel plans of the president, Joe Biden, grounding Air Force One in LA. The region has been experiencing warmer-than-average temperatures in January, in part due to recent blasts of dry air, including the notorious Santa Ana winds. Southern California has not recorded more than 2.5mm (0.1in) of rain since early May.: “This is a phenomenon of the increasing effects of climate change on weather. We have more weather extremes that can change more quickly than we might be accustomed to.”More than 220,000 homes and businesses in Los Angeles county were without power late on Tuesday, data from PowerOutage.us showe
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