California: Multiple major wildfires raging across Los Angeles County, the most populous US county, has killed at least five people and damaged at least 1,100 buildings, authorities said.
The Palisades fire, a devastating wind-driven brush fire in Pacific Palisades starting Tuesday, spread to 15,800 acres (63.9 square km) as of Wednesday afternoon with zero containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) on Wednesday.
“Extreme fire behaviour, including short and long-range spotting, continues to challenge firefighting efforts for the Palisades Fire,” noted Cal Fire in an update.
The blaze destroyed about 1,000 structures, including many expensive homes built between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and forced thousands to flee with new evacuation warnings issued for Malibu, reports Xinhua news agency.
In a rich community located 32 km west of Los Angeles downtown, many landmarks, including the sumptuous Getty Villa museum showcasing Greek and Roman antiquities and the mid-century modern Eames House, were threatened by fire.
Three schools in Palisades were reportedly significantly damaged by the blaze.
The Eaton fire, which broke out Tuesday evening, had burned more than 10,600 acres (42.9 square km) near Altadena and Pasadena, two neighbouring cities of Los Angeles, killed five people and seriously injured many others, according to fire and police officials.
Cal Fire said that firefighters are working aggressively to slow the spread of the blaze and protect critical infrastructure under extreme conditions.
Meanwhile, the Hurst fire, which spread quickly during high winds overnight in Sylmar, scorched over 700 acres (2.83 square km) as of Wednesday afternoon.
The authorities blamed the dangerous wildfire situation in Southern California on the combination of strong winds, very low relative humidity and dry vegetation as extraordinarily powerful winds and gusts — of up to 160 kph — were reported overnight.
A Particularly Dangerous Situation red flag warning will remain in effect across the region through Thursday afternoon, and a high wind warning will remain in effect through Wednesday evening.
Local TV station KTLA reported that widespread power outages caused by wildfires in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties in Southern California were impacting more than 4 million customers as of Wednesday afternoon.
California governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate due to a fast-moving wildfire in Southern California.
(IANS)
