Celebrities, residents flee as homes burn in LA wildfire
Some 2.2 million people lacked electricity ater California’s biggest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, shut it off over the weekend in the northern part of the state to prevent its equipment from sparking blazes during windy weather.
A wildfire swept through the star-studded hills of Los Angeles on Monday, destroying several large homes and forcing Lebron James and thousands of others to flee.
Meanwhile, a blaze in Northern California wine country exploded in size.
The flames that roared up a steep hillside near the J. Paul Gety Museum in Los Angeles’ Brentwood section illustrated the danger the state faces as high winds bater both ends of California and threaten to turn any spark into a devastating inferno.
At least eight homes were destroyed and six damaged in the La-area blaze, fire officials said.
No deaths from either blaze were reported, but a firefighter was seriously injured in the blaze in Sonoma County wine country. Authorities later said he was in stable condition.
More deliberate blackouts are possible in the
Flames that roared up a steep hillside near the Getty Museum illustrated the danger the state faces as high winds batter both ends of California and threaten to turn any spark into a devastating inferno
coming days because another round of strong winds is expected.
The company, which was driven into bankruptcy ater its equipment ignited several deadly wildfires in recent years, admited Monday that despite the outages, its power lines may have started two smaller fires over the weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area.
PG&E also has said its transmission lines may have been responsible for the Sonoma County fire.
That blaze, which broke out last week amid the vineyards and wineries north of San Francisco, grew to at least 300 square kilometres, destroying 123 buildings including 57 homes, damaging another dozen homes and threatening 90,000 more structures, authorities said.
Although about 30,000 people were allowed back home on Monday aternoon, about 156,000 people were still under evacuation orders because of the fire, mostly from the city of Santa Rosa.
People on the eastern side of the fire and in neighbouring Lake County also were given evacuation warnings to be prepared to leave because of changing winds.
The flames didn’t discriminate. In wine country, farm workers who toil in the vineyards were among those displaced.
In Los Angeles, James and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger were driven from their homes.
“Man these LA (fires) are no joke,” the Los Angeles Lakers star tweeted, using an emoji for the word “fires.” ‘’Crazy night.” The Hollywood premiere of Schwarzenegger’s “Terminator: Dark Fate” was canceled on Monday night.
Others who own homes in the evacuation zone include Sen. Kamala Harris, a Democrat running for president, who was not home at the time; Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger; and rapper and producer Dr. Dre.
Anxious residents made their way down steep hillsides in the middle of the night in Range Rovers, Teslas and Maseratis. They let behind homes decorated for Halloween - skeletons hanging from homes, goblins siting on front steps, cobwebs draped over bushes - as a plume of smoke glowed like a giant pumpkin.
David Boyle, 78, awoke at 3 a.m. to his doorbell ringing and police officers pounding on the front door. They warned him the wildfire was advancing toward his house near the Gety complex.
“They said, ‘You need to evacuate.’ I’m like, ‘When?’ They said, ‘Now,’” Doyle said.
He grabbed dog food and his wife’s jewellery and hustled his dogs out the door. They went to a recreation centre.
“It’s a fact of life when you live in this area,” he said.
“Every place has some problem with disasters. People talk about earthquakes here, but I don’t think it’s as bad as hurricane season.” Tens of thousands of people were ordered to clear out as the fire spread to more than 600 acres and burned at least five homes, authorities said.
The evacuation area extended west into Pacific Palisades, encompassing some of the most exclusive real estate in California, where celebrities and wealthy professionals live in estates nestled in canyons or on ridgetop retreats that cost tens of millions of dollars but are surrounded by tinder-dry vegetation.