Hollywood Hills fire breaks out as deadly wildfires burn out of control across Los Angeles area
Los Angeles (AP): A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles' most iconic spots as firefighters battled to get under control three other major blazes that killed five people, put 100,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged the city from the Pacific Coast to inland Pasadena.
The Sunset Fire was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile (kilometer) from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The streets around Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were packed with stop-and-go traffic as sirens blared and low-flying helicopters soared by on their way to dump water on the flames. People toting suitcases left hotels on foot, while some onlookers walked towards the flames, recording the fire on their phones.
More than 1,000 structures, mostly homes, have been destroyed, and more than 130,000 people are under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area.
Winds eased up some Wednesday, a day after hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, igniting block after block, and hundreds of firefighters from other states have arrived to help, but the four fires burning out of control showed the danger is far from over.
More than half a dozen schools in the area were either damaged or destroyed, including Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie” and the TV series “Teen Wolf,” officials said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said air operations were dousing flames. She warned they still faced “erratic winds,” though not of hurricane force like Tuesday evening, when much of the destruction occurred.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said between 200 and 500 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton Fire that started Tuesday night.
He said the city's water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire as embers blown by the intense winds ignited block after block.
“We were not stopping that fire last night," he said. "Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire.”
On the Pacific Coast west of downtown Los Angeles, a major fire leveled entire blocks, reducing grocery stores and banks to rubble in the Pacific Palisades, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity homes and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin' USA.”
More than 1,000 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, the most destructive in the modern history of LA. Many people were hurt, including first responders, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
The scope of the destruction was just becoming clear: Block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to nothing but charred remains dotted by stone fireplaces and blackened arched entryways. Ornate iron railing wrapped around the smoldering frame of one house. The apocalyptic scenes spread for miles.
Swimming pools were blackened with soot, and sports cars slumped on melted tires.
As flames moved through his neighborhood, Jose Velasquez sprayed down his Altadena home with water as embers rained down on the roof. He managed to save their home, which also houses their family business of selling churros, a Mexican pastry. Others weren't so lucky. Many of his neighbors were at work when they lost their homes.
“So we had to call a few people and then we had people messaging, asking if their house was still standing," he said. "We had to tell them that it's not.”
Beyond the burned areas, residents worked wearing N95 masks, unable to escape the toxic smoke wafting over huge sections of the city.
Actors lost homes
The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighborhoods, including Calabasas and Santa Monica, home to California's rich and famous. Hollywood stars.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton are among the stars who said Wednesday they had lost homes.
Billy Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades Fire.
“We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can't be taken away," the Crystals wrote in the statement.
In Palisades Village, the public library, two major grocery stores, a pair of banks and several boutiques were destroyed.
“It's just really weird coming back to somewhere that doesn't really exist anymore,” said Dylan Vincent, who returned to the neighborhood to retrieve some items and saw that his elementary school had burned down and that whole blocks had been flattened.
The fires have consumed a total of about 42 square miles (108 square kilometers) — nearly the size of the entire city of San Francisco.
Fast-moving flames allowed little time to escape
Flames moved so quickly that many barely had time to escape. Police sought shelter inside their patrol cars, and residents at a senior living center were pushed in wheelchairs and hospital beds down a street to safety in the foothills northeast of LA.
In the race to get to safety in Pacific Palisades, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot.
Higher temperatures and less rain mean a longer fire seasonCalifornia's wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association,
Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May.
The winds increased to 80 mph (129 kph) Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service. Forecasters predicted wind gusts of 35-55 mph (56 to 88 kph) which could rise higher in the mountains and foothills. Fire conditions could last through Friday.
Landmarks get scorched and studios suspend production
President Joe Biden signed a federal emergency declaration after arriving at a Santa Monica fire station for a briefing with Gov Gavin Newsom, who dispatched National Guard troops to help.
Several Hollywood studios suspended production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park between Pasadena and Pacific Palisades.
With an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed and the fire still active, the Palisades Fire is by far the city's most destructive in modern history, topping the Sayre fire in 2008 that destroyed just over 600 structures, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, a partnership between the city's fire department and MySafe:LA. Structures refers to homes and other buildings.
Southern California Edison shut off service to thousands because of safety concerns related to high winds and fire risks. More than 1.5 million customers could face shutoffs depending on weather conditions, the utility said.
Several Southern California landmarks were heavily damaged, including the Reel Inn in Malibu, a seafood restaurant. Owner Teddy Leonard and her husband hope to rebuild.
“When you look at the grand scheme of things, as long as your family is well and everyone's alive, you're still winning, right?” she said.
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BJP eyes gains in polls to five assemblies; West Bengal main challenge
New Delhi (PTI): Stakes are high for the BJP in the upcoming polls to five assemblies, with West Bengal being the major test case for the saffron party.
In the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls, the BJP emerged as the main opposition with its tally surging to 77 seats in the 294-member assembly from three in 2016.
With a recalibrated poll strategy, the BJP is confident of unseating the TMC from power this time by cashing in on the anti-incumbency sentiments against the Mamata Banerjee government. The party is also hoping to gain public sentiment by raising the issue of corruption and infiltration in the state.
The TMC has been in power in West Bengal for 15 years.
However, the biggest challenge for the BJP is the absence of a local charismatic leader in West Bengal. While the saffron party is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership to win the battle there, Banerjee continues to be a formidable face in the state.
In Assam, the BJP-led NDA is confident of scoring a hat-trick under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, banking on its governance record and organisational strength.
But its march to victory may not be a cakewalk, with the Congress-led opposition making efforts to cash in on anti-incumbency and local grievances against the ruling dispensation.
The BJP-led NDA may also face resistance from sections of minority voters, particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims, amid criticism from the opposition over the government's eviction drives and rhetoric around illegal immigration.
Issues such as long-pending demands of six communities for Scheduled Tribe status could also figure in the electoral discourse.
The BJP has been on the rise in Assam since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and came to power in the state for the first time in 2016 by winning 60 seats in the 126-member assembly. It improved its tally to 64 in the 2021 assembly elections.
Its allies AGP, UPPL and BPF have nine, seven, and three MLAs in the outgoing assembly.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members, and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.
In the south, the BJP has been making renewed efforts to expand its toehold in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, banking on its performance in past elections. But its success depends on its allies.
The BJP, which could not win any seat in the last assembly polls in Kerala, is hoping to gain some ground this time, riding on its success in the recent civic body polls, even as the Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF are the prime contenders in the state.
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held on a single day on April 9, in Tamil Nadu on April 23, and in two phases in West Bengal on April 23 and 29, while votes will be counted for all polls on May 4, the Election Commission announced on Sunday.
