‘Armageddon’: Los Angeles wildfires kill 5, wipe out homes, businesses worth billions

Ferocious winds that drove wildfires in the United States’ city of Los Angeles have relatively calmed, allowing firefighters to make progress in their operations to douse the inferno.

The wildfires, which have left a trail of destruction, killed five people and affected the evacuation of thousands of LA residents, including celebrities and Hollywood stars.

Here are 10 points on LA wildfires:

The Los Angeles wildfires ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes. They have also burnt down properties and businesses worth billions, upending the bustling city’s economy and the lives of its residents.

The Altadena neighbourhood of the city was one of the worst hit as a swath of about 250 homes was reduced to rubble. Along a stretch of about 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, fewer than 10 appeared to be intact.

According to the LA Times, 2000 structures were burnt to ashes. At least 130,000 residents were under evacuation orders. An LA resident told the BBC that the fire was “a little bit like Armageddon”.

Tyler Bridges, who lives in Pasadena, told the agency that the fire started with powerful winds with speeds up to 137 km per hour. He said there was no way to contain the fire with such wind speeds. “It was raining ash. You would go outside and ash would slam into your face, your eyes, and your mouth. It’s hard to breathe, you’re coughing,” he added.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a press conference that the “firestorm is the big one”. At least six separate wildfires were burning in Los Angeles County on Thursday morning. Three of them were listed as “0% controlled,” including the Palisades fire in the west, the Eaton Fire in the east and the smaller Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills.

The houses of Hollywood actors Leighton Meester and Adam Brody and another owned by actor Billy Crystal were charred by the fires. Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore, Maria Shriver and other celebrities were among more than 100,000 people forced to evacuate their homes.

Film star Billy Crystal and his wife Janice announced that their Pacific Palisades home, where they had lived since 1979, had been destroyed. “We are heartbroken of course, but with the love of children and friends we will get through this,” they said. Media personality Paris Hilton said she was “heartbroken beyond words” after watching her beachfront house in Malibu “burn to the ground on live TV.”

Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, told a press conference that the city had faced a natural disaster. Meanwhile, around 250,000 people were without power in southern California.

Governor Gavin Newsom said the state has deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to battle the blazes. The state of Oregon was sending 300 firefighters and Washington state 146 personnel.

The city has incurred an estimated $57 billion in damages due to the fires.