More LA residents flee wildfires amid warning of stronger winds in morning
More LA residents flee wildfires amid warning of stronger winds in morning
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Hillside homes abandoned and 30,000 evacuated as infernos rip into north and west areas of Californian city. Residents of Los Angeles have fled wildfires engulfing the suburbs of the US’s second city, as firefighters struggled to contain the flames overnight amid fears they would worsen on Wednesday morning.
![['There's nothing left': fast-moving wildfires sweep through southern California – video]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/723fb324524e5ea781f66f1e98594f281526b075/0_195_8192_4608/8192.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
California officials have ordered more than 30,000 people to evacuate their homes as hillside infernos ripped through the coastal Pacific Palisades neighbourhood. People escaped by car and on foot. Two other inland fires in the LA vicinity were also spreading fast – one in Altadena, near Pasadena, and one in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley, north-west of LA. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has declared a state of emergency.
The city’s mayor, Karen Bass, said overnight that the wind speed could increase on Wednesday morning, which would further fan the fire. “Angelenos should be advised that the windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning and to heed local warnings, stay vigilant and stay safe,” she said.
The National Weather Service (NWS) had previously issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles county until Thursday. Low humidity and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain meant the conditions were “about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the service said.
