Wildfires in California: the city of Paradise burned down, Malibu evacuated
At least 9 people were killed and 150,000 were evacuated due to two major wildfires in California. The fire that broke out in the north of the state spread to 8 thousand hectares and almost completely destroyed the city of Paradise. West of Los Angeles, the elements overcame a major highway 101 and began to threaten coastal areas, including the popular resort of Malibu. The area of fires that broke out in this area is about 7 thousand hectares. A state of emergency has been declared in the state.
The fire broke out near the town of Thousand Oaks northwest of Los Angeles.
At first, about 75 thousand people were evacuated here. However, now residents of other settlements west of Townsend Oaks, including the popular resort of Malibu, are forced to leave their homes.
The cities of Malibu and nearby Calabasas are known for the fact that many American celebrities live there. Some of them posted messages about the fire on social networks.
"I just landed at home, I had an hour to pack my things and evacuate," Kim Kardashian wrote on Instagram, calling for prayers for Calabasas.
Her husband, rapper Kanye West, wrote: "Thank you all for the prayers. We are safe and together."
Further north of the state, not far from Sacramento, another fire is raging. His victims were five people in the city of Paradise, who died in their cars.
Thousands of residents, schools and hospitals were evacuated from Paradise, which is home to 26 thousand people.
"The city is devastated, everything is destroyed," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Due to the accident, the roads leading out of the city were practically blocked, and many residents of Paradise abandoned their cars and fled from the fire with children and pets in their arms.
Rescuers were clearing roads, bulldozing cars into a ditch to allow ambulances and firefighters to pass.
In total, 16 active fires have been registered in California. A red alert level has been declared in a large part of the north of the state. This implies that the fire can spread there within 24 hours.
To understand how a forest fire looks "from the inside", it is worth watching a video that appeared on the network in late summer 2018.
Dramatic video shows a 70-year-old man and his son trying to drive through a wildfire in a National Park in Montana. Fortunately, both of them survived, although the car they were forced to abandon in the blazing forest burned down.
Keywords: California | Wildfires | USA