Firefighters in Los Angeles are battling numerous fires in the city’s suburbs, while tens of thousands of residents have been forced to flee.
The rapidly changing situation is compounded by Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions. Currently, the authorities say that there is no possibility of bringing some of the fires under control.
The Palisades fire, which is the closest to the coast and also the largest, engulfed the picturesque suburbs where many Hollywood stars live. More than 1,000 buildings have already been destroyed.
Here’s how the fires spread and engulfed the Los Angeles area.
Overview of current fires
Seven fires are currently being extinguished.
The The palisades the fire was first reported at 10:30 a.m. (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday, and in just 20 minutes it had spread from a 20-hectare fire to more than 200 hectares, and by Wednesday evening it was approaching 16,000 hectares. At least 30,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes so far.
The Eaton the fire grew to 1,000 hectares in the first six hours of its outbreak. It started in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena on Tuesday around 6:30pm local time. By Wednesday evening, five deaths had been reported and it had spread to more than 10,000 hectares.
The Hurst the fire is located north of San Fernando. It started burning around 10:10 p.m. local time on Tuesday, spreading to 850 hectares, according to local officials. That triggered evacuation orders in neighboring Santa Clarita.
The Woodley the fire broke out in Woodley Park around 06:15 local time on Wednesday. LAFD says it is now contained.
AND Olivas the fire broke out in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, and was burning about 11 acres of land, although it is now also contained.
The Lydia The fire broke out on Wednesday around 2 pm in the mountainous area of Acton north of Los Angeles, and spread to almost 350 hectares. By 9 p.m., 40% had been contained.
The Sunset The fire broke out around 6:00 PM in the Hollywood Hills, a residential neighborhood overlooking the city’s historic Hollywood area. It currently covers about 50 hectares and is 0% restricted. A mandatory evacuation order is in effect.
How did the Palisades fire spread?
The map above shows how quickly the Palisades Fire spread, intensifying in a matter of hours. A little after 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, it covered 772 hectares and within four hours had expanded to about its current size.
Thousands of people were forced to evacuate, while more than 1,400 firefighters are trying to extinguish the fire.
How does the Palisades fire compare in size to New York and London?
To get an idea of the size of the Palisades fire, we superimposed it on maps of New York and London.
As you can see, it is comparable in size to the central area of the UK capital or to large areas of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
How fires look from space
Another indication of the scale of the Palisades fire comes from NASA’s Earth Observatory.
Images taken on Tuesday show a huge plume of smoke rising from California and drifting out to sea.
Effects of the Eaton Fire
The Palisades fire isn’t the only one having a devastating effect on the Los Angeles neighborhood.
The pictures above show the Pasadena Jewish Temple before and during the Eaton fire.
The Jewish Temple and Center’s website says it has been in use since 1941 and has a congregation of more than 400 families.
