(Image source from: AP)
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna compared the devastation caused by wildfires in the area to the aftermath of an atomic bomb. “It appears as if a nuclear bomb was dropped on these areas,” Luna said Thursday. On Thursday evening, a new forest fire broke out in the West Hills district of Los Angeles, destroying more than 900 hectares of land in just a few hours. At least 10 people died in this fire. Firefighters across Southern California are battling wildfires that have destroyed thousands of buildings and forced mass evacuations. The Pacific Palisades fire burned more than 19,000 acres and the Altadena fire burned 13,000 acres. In total, these fires displaced tens of thousands of residents. The California National Guard was deployed to help with the emergency response. “We are working with everything we have at our disposal, including National Guard members, to keep our communities safe in the days ahead,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. He also warned against looting as there were reports of looting in some evacuated areas.
The hardest hit areas were Pacific Palisades and Altadena, where homes worth millions of dollars were reduced to rubble. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Billy Crystal are also affected. Almost 180,000 residents have to be evacuated and the death toll continues to rise. “This is an absolutely unprecedented and historic firestorm,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. US President Joe Biden has pledged federal funding to help California respond to what he says are the most devastating wildfires in the state's history. “This is the largest, most destructive wildfire in California history,” Biden said at a White House news conference. This fire also sparked a political conflict. President-elect Donald Trump criticized Governor Newsom on his social network Truth, calling him “Gavin Newsom” and accusing him of mismanagement. Trump's claims also included accusations of mismanagement of water supplies and efforts to prevent fires. President Biden urged Americans not to politicize tragedies.
Justin Trudeau, who recently decided to step down as prime minister amid President-elect Trump's aggressive campaign to annex Canada as the 51st state of the United States, has offered to help put out the wildfires in California. “Neighbors helping neighbors,” Trudeau wrote on X, sharing a video of Canadian firefighters at work in Los Angeles. Evacuation centers have been overwhelmed with generous donations from local residents, but authorities have begun redirecting supplies elsewhere. Thousands of people were evacuated from a wildfire in the Hollywood Hills that broke out Wednesday evening until containment efforts allowed residents to temporarily return home on Thursday. As the fires escalated, conspiracy theorists took to social media to make unfounded claims, including that firefighting equipment was being sent to Ukraine and that firefighters were understaffed due to existing problems.
Experts say 20 years of drought followed by two years of unusually wet weather led to an abundance of dry vegetation that fueled the fires. The lack of heavy rains in Southern California over the past eight months has exacerbated the problem. Meteorologists have warned that the situation remains "critical" with strong winds and dry weather likely to persist.
