Los Angeles wildfires: New fast-moving fire breaks out in Hollywood Hills

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles’ most iconic sites as firefighters battled to gain control of three others large flames that killed five people, put 130,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged communities from the Pacific coast to inland Pasadena.

The Sunset Fire burned near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The streets around Grauman’s Chinese Theater and Madame Tussauds were filled with stop-and-go traffic as sirens blared and low-flying helicopters hovered by on their way to dump water on the flames. People with suitcases left hotels on foot, while some onlookers walked towards the flames and recorded the fire on their phones.

Winds eased some Wednesday, a day after hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, ignited block after block, and hundreds of firefighters from other states have arrived to help, but the four fires burning out of control showed the danger is far from over.

More than half a dozen schools in the area were either damaged or destroyed, including Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror film “Carrie” and the TV series “Teen Wolf,” officials said. UCLA has canceled classes for this week.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said aerial operations were putting out the flames. She warned they still faced “erratic winds”, though not like Tuesday night, when the planes had to be grounded and much of the destruction occurred.

In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said between 200 and 500 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire that started Tuesday night.

He said the city’s the water system was stretched and were further hampered by power outages, but even without these problems firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire due to the intense winds blowing the flames.

“These erratic gusts threw embers for miles ahead of the fire,” he said.

On the Pacific coast west of downtown Los Angeles, a large fire leveled entire blocks, reducing convenience stores and banks to rubble in Pacific Palisadesa coastal hillside area lined with celebrity homes and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin’ USA.”

The Palisades fire was the most destructive in Los Angeles history, with at least 1,000 buildings burned.

The extent of the destruction was just becoming clear: Block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to nothing more than charred remains dotted with stone fireplaces and black arched entryways. Ornate iron railings wrapped around the smoldering frame of one house. The apocalyptic scenes spread for miles.

Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton are among the stars who said Wednesday they lost home.

Billy Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades fire.

“We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that cannot be taken away,” Crystals wrote in the statement.

In Palisades Village, the public library, two large grocery stores, a few banks and several stores were destroyed.

“It’s just really weird to come back to a place that doesn’t really exist anymore,” said Dylan Vincent, who returned to the neighborhood to pick up some things to find his elementary school burned down and entire blocks flattened.

The fires have consumed a total of about 42 square miles (108 square kilometers) – almost the size of the entire city of San Francisco.

Fast moving flames gave little time to escape

The flames moved so fast that many barely had time to escape. Police took shelter inside their patrol cars, and residents of a senior living center were pushed in wheelchairs and hospital beds down a street to safety.

IN the race to get away in Pacific Palisades, roads became impassable as dozens of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot.

California’s wildfire season is starting earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall linked to climate change, according to recent data. Rain that normally ends the fire season is often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, according to Western Firefighters Association.

Dry wind, i.a the infamous Santa Anashave contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has seen no more than 0.1 inch (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.

Winds increased to 80 mph (129 km/h) Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service. Forecasters predicted gusts of 35 to 55 mph (56 to 88 km/h) that could increase higher in the mountains and foothills. Fire conditions may last until Friday.

Landmarks are being burned, and studios are ceasing production

President Joe Biden signed a federal emergency declaration after arriving at a Santa Monica fire station for a briefing with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sent National Guard troops to help.

Several Hollywood studios suspended production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park between Pasadena and Pacific Palisades.

As of Wednesday evening, more than 456,000 people were without power in Southern California, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.

Several Southern California landmarks were heavily damaged, including the Reel Inn in Malibu, a seafood restaurant. Owner Teddy Leonard and her husband hope to rebuild.

“In the grand scheme of things, as long as your family is fine and everyone is alive, you’re still winning, right?” she said.

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Golden reported from Seattle and Watson from San Diego. Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber and Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles, Ethan Swope in Pasadena, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Janie Har in San Francisco, Brian Melley in London, Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, and Tammy Webber in Detroit contributed to this report.