Photo: Jeff Gritchen The Orange County Register/Associated Press Firefighters battle the “Airport Fire” along Trabuco Creek Road, Calif., Sept. 9, 2024.
Agence France-Presse in Los Angeles
Posted at 9:46 AM Updated at 11:59 AM
- United States
A wildfire raged Wednesday in the hills above Los Angeles, destroying dozens of homes and burning nearly 20,000 hectares in 24 hours, one of three wildfires burning near the second-largest city in the United States.
North of the Californian megalopolis, residents of the towns of Wrightwood and Mt Baldy were ordered to evacuate their homes. At least 33 homes and several cabins were destroyed by the fire, which also swept through a ski resort, according to authorities.
“Our house is going to burn,” a tearful local resident, Jenny Alaniz, told KTLA radio.
An AFP reporter in Wrightwood described the carcasses of burned-out buildings and cars.
The blaze that broke out Sunday had consumed 1,600 hectares of land by Tuesday, a figure that had increased tenfold to 19,400 hectares by Wednesday.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said three people, including a member of his team, were trapped in a remote area near Mt. Baldy.
“Our air rescue team is preparing to hoist them out once the smoke clears,” he said. said, adding that rescue services were also trying to reach them by road in 4x4s.
To the north-east of the megacity, another fire, the Line Firehas razed 14,000 hectares. Residents of mountain villages were asked to evacuate their homes while several roads were blocked.
A 30-year-old man suspected of starting the fire was arrested Tuesday, according to court documents.
A third fire, the Airport Fire, also continued to rage southeast of Los Angeles, having so far razed more than 8,900 hectares. According to local firefighters, seven people were injured in the blaze that broke out on Monday.
The spread of the fires has been exacerbated by the heatwave that has hit the region, with temperatures reaching over 43 degrees Celsius in some places in recent days. However, temperatures began to drop on Wednesday.
With global warming, the western part of the North American continent is increasingly hit by extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and fires.
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