Wildfires in California: Many Hollywood celebrities flee, the damage is terrible

Raging wildfires in the US state of California have killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of buildings and ordered more than 70,000 people to evacuate on Wednesday.

Out of control, at least 5 people died

Strong winds have hampered firefighting operations and made the blaze more intense since it began on Tuesday. At least 5 deaths have been reported. The lack of water has hampered firefighting efforts, especially in the Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire has burned nearly 4,856 hectares.

Another fire, the Eaton Fire, east of Los Angeles near Pasadena, has also spread violently since its outbreak on Tuesday night, covering more than 4,047 hectares as of Wednesday morning local time.

Firefighters fight the Eaton fire next to a completely burned house on Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, California (Photo courtesy of AP, not reissued)

The Hurst Fire, in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, is also spreading. The fact that many fires broke out out of control made rescue efforts very difficult due to a lack of personnel. “There aren’t enough firefighters in L.A. County to deal with four separate fires of this magnitude,” a fire official said.

Mrs. Harris’ home and many celebrities were affected

The fire burned down a luxurious coastal area of Los Angeles overnight, forcing many Hollywood celebrities to evacuate by car and on foot. US Vice President Kamala Harris’ home is also affected and must be evacuated, although she is currently in Washington.

Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore, Maria Shriver and many other celebrities are among tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes to escape the out-of-control wildfires that are raging across Los Angeles.

“It’s heartbreaking, devastating, unbelievable,” Shriver, a journalist and former first lady of California when she married former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote in X on Wednesday. “Everything is gone. Our neighborhood, our restaurants.”

Thick smoke from wildfires blankets downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo copyrighted by AP, not republished)

Shaun Tate, 45, said he was running from his home in Altadena, a Los Angeles suburb, at 4:15 a.m. when he saw the flames spreading toward his home. “I was out of the house because I heard something flying off the roof,” Tate said at an evacuation center in Pasadena.

“We loaded our things into the SUV and drove down here,” he said. “I decided to keep my laptop, diabetes medication and some food.” Officials warned that gusty winds are expected to last throughout the day.

“We are not out of danger as the strong winds continue to blow through this city and county today,” said Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.

The sky above Los Angeles turned red in some areas and was covered in a thick layer of smoke. As the blaze spread and residents began evacuating after the blaze broke out on Tuesday, roads were so congested that some people abandoned their cars to escape the blaze.

Hundreds of thousands of households lost power

According to PowerOutage.us, almost all statewide outages occur in Southern California, mostly in Los Angeles. Data showed about 400,000 homes and businesses in Southern California were without power on Wednesday.

Wildfires ravage the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA on January 8, 2025. (Photo copyrighted by AP, not republished)

Meanwhile, Southern California utility company Edison has cut power to more than 169,000 homes and businesses, or more than 3% of its 5 million customers, across six counties in California. The company sent a notice to 8.5% of its customers that they were being considered for further power cuts.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. President Joe Biden had planned to visit a fire station in Santa Monica to hear a report from firefighters on Wednesday, according to the White House.

President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office in two weeks, blamed Newsom’s environmental policies for the disaster in a post on his Truth Social website.

Before the fires began, the National Weather Service issued the highest alert for extreme wildfires in much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday. The agency said that, with low humidity and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain, conditions were “almost the worst possible for wildfires.”

Climate scientists say the Los Angeles area must always be ready for fires in the fall, when seasonal winds sweep into the area, after successive wet winters that produce a lot of grass and vegetation that turns into burning material during the hot summer.