As officials braced for the situation to escalate early Wednesday, California firefighters fought wind-whipped wildfires that ripped across the Los Angeles area, damaging houses, jamming roads as tens of thousands fled, and taxing resources.
Staff at a senior living facility had to move scores of seniors in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot because the fire that started Tuesday night close to a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of Los Angeles advanced so quickly. Before ambulances, buses, and even construction vans arrived to transport them to safety, the occupants sat there in their bedclothes while embers dropped all around them.
The Pacific Palisades section of the city, a hillside location along the coast filled with celebrity houses and commemorated by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit song “Surfin’ USA,” was torn apart by another fire that began hours earlier. Roads became impassable as countless individuals abandoned their cars and fled on foot, some carrying suitcases, in a desperate rush to reach safety.
Emergency vehicles were unable to pass through the traffic congestion on Palisades Drive, so a bulldozer was used to clear the area and push the abandoned automobiles aside. Widespread damage to residences and businesses along the renowned Pacific Coast Highway was captured on camera.
Also Read:
One of the Most well-Liked Places for New Year’s Eve Festivities is Dubai
