Thousands flee path of Los Angeles fire
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — A brush fire outside Los Angeles was threatening thousands of homes and has prompted mandatory evacuation of local residents, authorities said on Saturday.
The 200-acre brush fire in Calabasas, a small Los Angeles County city some 10 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and about halfway between the Malibu and Santa Monica, was reportedly triggered when a vehicle hit a utility pole, downing power lines.
Several homes were damaged, fire officials said, and mandatory evacuations were ordered for some Calabasas residents as about 250 firefighters battled to contain the blaze. Helicopters and air tankers were also brought in to make water drops.
CNN quoted Calabasas city manager Tony Coroalles as saying that 3,000 homes, or about 5,000 people, had been evacuated.
Pictures of the current blaze show residents staring at bright, tall flames creeping toward the sky, visible from nearby streets.
Roseann Bleiweiss’ son told CNN the fire looked like “something out of a movie.”
One social media user said ash could be spotted as far away as Dodger Stadium, which is about 30 miles away. Some celebrities are chiming in on the fire as well, CNN said.
Ellen DeGeneres tweeted that her brother-in-law was out fighting the fire.
”Sending thanks to Portia’s brother Michael (and) all the rescue workers on the scene of this dangerous fire,” she said.
The fire came right up to the edges of Calabasas High School and Viewpoint School, which said on its website that it would close all of its Monday campus events.
Calabasas and the nearby Santa Monica Mountains are no stranger to wildfires — the area has experienced many dangerous blazes over the years.
A particularly strong blaze in 2013 burned nearly 28,000 acres in two days, threatening thousands of homes in Ventura County.
From 1925 through 2012, 343 fires have been documented, according to the National Park Service.