Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Firefighters in California battled wind-driven wildfires that swept through the Los Angeles area, destroying homes and blocking roads as tens of thousands fled, straining resources as authorities braced for a worsening situation.
The fire that broke out Tuesday night in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles spread so quickly that staff at a senior center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds across the street to a parking lot.
Residents waited in bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety.
A fire that started hours earlier broke out in the city's Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hilly coastal area dotted with celebrity residences and immortalized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin' USA.”
In the frantic rush to get to safety, roads became impassable as dozens of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some lugging suitcases.
Traffic jams prevented emergency vehicles from passing. A bulldozer was then brought in to push the abandoned cars aside and create a path. Video footage along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed road.
A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. (0630 GMT, Wednesday) and quickly prompted an evacuation in Sylmar, Los Angeles' northernmost neighborhood. The causes of all three fires are under investigation.
The flames were fanned by winds reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour (about 100 km/h) in some places. Wind speeds were expected to increase overnight, creating isolated gusts that could reach 100 mph (160 km/h) in the mountains and foothills – including areas that have not seen significant rain in months.
The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of asking off-duty firefighters for help. It was too windy for the firefighting planes to fly, making the fight even more difficult.
Officials did not give an estimate of the structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were threatened. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the scene and said many homes had burned.
By evening, the flames had spread to neighboring Malibu, and several people there were being treated for burns. A firefighter suffered a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Eric Scott.
As of Tuesday night, nearly 167,000 people were without power in Los Angeles County, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.
Recent dry winds, including the infamous Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has seen very little rain this season. Southern California has not seen more than 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) of rain since early May.
