LA mayor slammed for ignoring fire warnings to travel to Ghana as litany of failures fuel huge blazes

Furious Los Angelinos have blasted their mayor for traveling to Ghana while the city burns, despite having ample warning about 'critical' weather conditions in the days before. 

Mayor Karen Bass flew out to attend the West African country's presidential inauguration on Tuesday, after meteorologists warned that a 'recipe for fire' was on track to strike LA. 

To make matters worse, a litany of failures by LA city officials appear to be fueling the out-of-control blaze, which has forced tens of thousands of people to flee some of the city's ritziest enclaves as homes and businesses burn to the ground. 

Residents have criticized officials for failing to cut off electricity to power lines, as shocking footage shows how energized cables have fueled fires. 

Local people have also blasted Los Angeles County for allegedly refusing to refill the reservoirs, meaning fire hydrants are running dry in some areas and leaving firefighters hobbled in their attempts to extinguish the flames. 

Shocking footage from the Pacific Palisades shows sparks firing in all directions as power lines come down amid the smoke-filled wind. 

A Fox 11 correspondent at the scene sounded shaken as she reports on the surrounding carnage while wearing safety goggles and breathing gear. 

'Literally seconds ago we heard a very loud boom and there was a tree coming down, and it hit those power lines - you can see them sparking,' she said, while the reporter in the studio can be heard saying: 'Woah'. 

'We're trying to get away from them,' the on-scene reporter added. 'This is a very very dangerous situation the firefighters are dealing with.' 

A California woman shared the footage on X while asking why there were still energized power lines in an area where everyone is under an evacuation order. 'This is compounding the problem,' she wrote. 

Those lines have been seen sparking as the fires overload them, with said sparks helping start more fires and accelerate blazes already burning.  

Meanwhile, a Pacific Palisades resident of more than two decades years blasted local politicians for 'failing' the community after witnessing more than 100 homes burn. 

'I just left the hellscape formerly know as Pacific Palisades where I’ve lived for 26 years,' the Californian wrote on X. 

'I’m mad at what I saw. Our politicians have failed us. Unprepared, unimaginative, understaffed, now overwhelmed. Heads must roll for this disaster.'

The resident shared shocking footage of apocalyptic scenes from the area, with the sky glowing orange and flames razing everything in sight. 

Audio of communications between firefighters confirms that first responders ran out of water in some areas. 

'We have no water, it is... we're doing the best we can up there. We are making sure that people are out of the way,' one firefighter can be heard saying. 

Fox 11's Rick Caruso also blasted local officials for failing to refill the water supplies despite knowing that strong winds which could whip up wildfires were on the way. 

'Their hands have been tied. They can't fight a fire without water and the resources that are needed. Everybody knew these winds were coming,' Caruso said. 

'The other question has to be, were all the things in place to try to mitigate the damage here?

'The real issue to me here is two-fold. We've had decades to remove the brush in these hills that spreads so quickly, and the second is, we've got to have water.

'My understanding is the reservoir was not refilled in time, in a timely manner to keep the hydrants going... this is basic stuff, this isn't high science here. 

'It's all about leadership and management that we're seeing a failure of, and all of these residents are paying the ultimate price for that.' 

Meteorologists gave plenty of warning that a 'recipe for fire' was on track to strike LA as far back as last week.  

Rich Thompson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, warned that the region was extremely dry for the time of year because 'we haven't had any significant rain for months'. 

'The fuels are at near-critical levels in terms of moisture content,' Thompson told the LA Times at the weekend. 'That's a recipe for fire.'

Media outlet INKL News said Wednesday morning that Bass was on her way back after the swearing-in of Ghana's president John Dramani Mahama the day before. 

Bass has been posting updates on her X account thanking LAPD firefighters for tackling the ongoing blaze, while sharing information about emergency shelters.  

The California wildfires broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA. 

They spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot in apocalyptic scenes. 

The residents — one as old as 102 — waited there in their bedclothes as the night sky glowed red from flames and embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety.

Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city's Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences.

In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.

The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. 

Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway.

Pacific Palisades resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road.

'We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road,' Trainor said. 'People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming.'

A third wildfire started around 10:30pm and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles. The causes of all three fires were under investigation.

Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 60 mph (97 kph) in some places Tuesday, increasing to 70 miles an hour (112 kph) by early Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. 

They could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven't seen substantial rain in months.

The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of putting out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. 

It was too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight. A high wind warning was in effect for the region through 6 p.m., the weather service said.

'This will likely be the most destructive windstorm seen 2011 windstorm that did extensive damage to Pasadena and nearby foothills of the San Gabriel Valley,' the weather service said in a red flag warning early Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X early Wednesday that California had deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to combat the blazes. 

'Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives,' Newsom said.

The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. 

He remained in Los Angeles, where smoke was visible from his hotel, and was briefed on the wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help reimburse California for the firefighting cost.