Ring of Fire Closes in on Los Angeles as Hollywood Hills Blaze
The arc of flames encircling Los Angeles—spanning from a massive fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city's western edge to another raging near Pasadena in the east—was so vast that it appeared from space as a giant pincer.
A relentless wave of wildfires encroaching on Los Angeles from multiple directions advanced toward the symbolic heart of the US film industry on Thursday, as a new blaze erupted in the hills overlooking Hollywood Boulevard and its iconic Walk of Fame.
Media personality Paris Hilton said she was "heartbroken beyond words" after watching her beachfront house in Malibu "burn to the ground on live TV."
Actor James Woods recounted fleeing in the face of the flames: "One day you're swimming in the pool, and the next day it's all gone," he said in a TV interview. He wept as he described a niece who "came out with her little Yeti piggy bank for us to rebuild our house."
Some residents ventured back to areas the fire had already swept through, where brick chimneys were left looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles. The remnants of a tattered and scorched American flag flapped from a pole.
"I had just come from my family home where my mother lives that was burned to a crisp ... And then I came up to my home and - same thing. It's completely dust," said Oliver Allnatt, 36, wearing ski goggles and a filtered face mask as he took pictures of the ruins. "Basically just a chimney stack and a pile of ash. I mean, it's something out of a movie."
Thousands of Angelenos fleeing the flames sought refuge in temporary shelters. Foad Farid found refuge in the gym of the Westwood Recreation Center with nothing but his car and his phone. Neighbors dropped off blankets, clothing, water, pizza and pet food.
Jeff Harris arrived towing his Feisty Fish Poke food truck and began serving meals. "I'm just here to help," he said.
Kevin Williams, at an evacuation center in Pasadena, said he knew it was time to run when gas canisters at his neighbors' homes began exploding under the heat.
"The wind whipped up, the flames were up about 30 or 40 feet high, and you hear 'pop, pop, pop.' It sounded like a war zone."
Smoldering Ruins
Aerial footage captured by KTLA television revealed block after block of smoldering homes in Pacific Palisades, with the smoky expanse intermittently lit by the orange flames of houses still ablaze.
To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eaton Fire scorched an additional 10,600 acres (4,289 hectares), destroyed another 1,000 structures, and claimed the lives of at least five people, according to officials.
“We’re facing a historic natural disaster, and I don’t think that can be overstated,” said Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, during a press conference.
The magnitude and rapid spread of the fires overwhelmed already exhausted firefighting crews.
Firefighters from six other states were being deployed to California, while 250 engine companies with 1,000 personnel were redirected from Northern to Southern California, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone announced at a briefing.
“We’ve pushed the system to its limits. We’re battling a wildfire using urban water systems,” said Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
The fires struck at a particularly vulnerable time for Southern California, which had experienced months without significant rainfall. The situation worsened with the arrival of strong Santa Ana winds, which carried dry desert air from the east to the coastal mountains, intensifying the wildfires as they swept over hilltops and through canyons.
