Two killed, many injured as tens of thousands flee Los Angeles fires

The large wildfires burning through Los Angeles have now destroyed at least 1,000 buildings, killed two people and caused a "high number" of significant injuries, authorities say.

More than 30,000 Californians are under evacuation orders as three fires rage uncontained. Traffic jams prompted many to abandon their cars and flee.

Authorities said "hurricane-force" winds were fuelling the fires, three of which remain uncontained and out of control. The largest, in the coastal neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades, has been declared the most destructive in the city's history.

"What we saw here in the last 24 hours is unprecedented," police chief Jim McDonnell told president Joe Biden at a briefing in Santa Monica on Wednesday afternoon. "I've never seen anything like this."

Fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades ran dry about 3am Wednesday, local time, and a lack of water in holding tanks was blamed for a drop in water pressure.

There are reports of ongoing problems with some hydrants and residents have been asked to conserve water.

The LA County Fire Department said "extreme fire behaviour" could continue into Thursday. The National Weather Service is warning of "extremely critical fire weather" along parts of the southern California coast, with wind gusts of up to 130 kilometres an hour.

"Last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we've seen in any part of our city, at any part of our history," LA city council president Marqueece Harris-Dawson said.

More than 1,000 firefighters are battling three blazes

• The Palisades fire, affecting the exclusive Pacific Palisades area along the coast, home to many celebrities near the Malibu and Santa Monica beach communities.This fire has burned more than 2,000 hectares, destroyed an estimated 1,000 structures and caused a "high number of significant injuries to resident who did not evacuate", authorities said.
• The Eaton fire, in the Los Angeles national forest and the Altadena area, north of Pasadena to city's north-east. At least two people have died in that fire, which has burned at least 890 hectares.
• The Hurst fire, which erupted about 10pm Tuesday in the Sylmar region, on the city's northern outskirts in the San Fernando Valley, quickly growing to 200 hectares and prompting the evacuation of 3,000 residents.

A fourth fire burned through at least 30 hectares in the Sepulveda Basin, north-west of downtown LA, but was brought under control on Wednesday.

The losses include schools, businesses and mansion-style homes caught on camera collapsing into flames.

Almost 400,000 properties in California have lost power. Others in LA have reported intermittent outages.

[Source: abc.au]

Story link here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-09/los-angeles-northern-california-palisades-wildfire-emergency/104797924