Wildfire erupts in Hollywood Hills as over 130,000 evacuated from LA blazes and celebrity homes destroyed
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A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday as other major blazes surrounding Los Angeles forced 130,000 to evacuate and killed five people. The Sunset Fire was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
![[Wildfires in Los Angeles]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/01/09/6/24/Wildfires-in-Los-Angeles-1ahim1r6.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
The so-called Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills scorched 50 acres on Wednesday, while the LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for people in a large area iconic to the entertainment industry including Hollywood Boulevard to the south and Mulholland Drive to the north.
Within that area is the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars are held. Next week's Oscar nominations announcement was already postponed by two days because of the fire, organisers said. More than half a dozen schools in the area were either damaged or destroyed, including Palisades Charter High School, which featured in Carrie and the TV series Teen Wolf.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said air operations were dousing flames. She warned they still faced "erratic winds," though not like Tuesday evening, when aircraft had to be grounded and much of the destruction occurred. On the Pacific Coast west of Los Angeles, a major fire levelled entire blocks, reducing grocery stores and banks to rubble in the Pacific Palisades, which is popular with celebrities.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton are among the stars who said on Wednesday they lost homes. 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 can't be taken away," the Crystals wrote in the statement.
