Hollywood Hills blaze rapidly expanding, fire chief says [New Fire!]

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Posted on 01/09/2025 5:23:03 AM PST by Red Badger

A fire official says a blaze that broke out in Hollywood Hills is "rapidly expanding" after a mandatory evacuation order was issued in the area following the spread of the wildfires in Los Angeles.

California fire chief David Acuna told the BBC there had been "zero progress" in containing the fires because of high winds and dry conditions.

"The wind has been blowing consistently at 60-100mph (95-160km/h) since yesterday morning," Acuna said. "It actually blew harder last night."

At least five fires are currently active across Los Angeles, with five people confirmed to have been killed.

Wind speeds have dropped to about 30mph, but Acuna said "it is still significant and because there are a lot of open areas it is extremely dangerous".

More than 130,000 people have already had to evacuate, and the homes of a number of celebrities - including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal - have been destroyed.

The first fire began on Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, near Malibu, with others subsequently breaking out across the north of the city.

As of 20:15 local time (04:00 GMT), four fires in the areas of the Palisades, Pasadena, Sylmar, and the Hollywood Hills covered more than 27,000 acres (42 sq miles; 109 sq km) and were 0% contained, according to the LAFD.

One fire in the Acton area had been partially contained, while two others had been completely contained.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...

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1 posted on 01/09/2025 5:23:03 AM PST by Red Badger

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