The governor of California declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and surrounding counties on Wednesday as wildfires threaten the megacity and have already destroyed dozens of homes.
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Gavin Newsom “has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties to fight the Bridge Fire and in Orange and Riverside counties to fight the Airport Fire,” according to a statement released Wednesday.
The “Bridge Fire”, one of three uncontrolled fires raging near the second largest city in the United States, has already destroyed dozens of homes and razed nearly 20,000 hectares in the heights of Los Angeles in 24 hours.
North of the California megalopolis, residents of the towns of Wrightwood and Mount 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 down,” local resident Jenny Alaniz told KTLA radio through tears.
An AFP journalist in Wrightwood saw the carcasses of burned buildings and cars.
The fire, which broke out on Sunday, had already devoured 1,600 hectares of land on Tuesday, a figure that had increased tenfold to 20,000 hectares on Wednesday.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said three people, including a member of his squad, were trapped in a remote area near Mount Baldy.
“Our air rescue team is preparing to hoist them out of there once the smoke clears,” he said, adding that rescuers were also trying to reach them by road in four-wheel drive vehicles.
Suspect arrested
To the northeast of the megacity, another fire, the “Line Fire,” has razed 14,000 hectares. Residents of mountain villages have been asked to evacuate their homes while several roads have been blocked.
A thirty-year-old man suspected of starting the fire was arrested on Tuesday, according to court documents.
“California is deploying all available resources to fight these devastating fires,” said Governor Gavin Newsom, who visited a command post for the Line Fire on Wednesday.
More than 5,700 people were mobilized to fight the three fires, his office said.
Southeast of Los Angeles, a third fire, the “Airport Fire,” continued to rage Wednesday. The blaze has so far razed more than 8,900 hectares. According to local firefighters, seven people were injured in the fire that occurred Monday.
The spread of the fires has been exacerbated by a heatwave in the region, with temperatures soaring above 43 degrees Celsius in some places in recent days. However, temperatures began to drop on Wednesday.
With global warming, the west of the North American continent is increasingly hit by extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and fires.
