A wildfire is rapidly advancing. Panicked residents of Los Angeles, California, in the United States, are fleeing in search of safety. In their haste to escape, they are abandoning their cars and running on foot. Witnesses are describing the scene as something out of a disaster film based on a Hollywood catastrophe story.
In addition, several other wildfires became much more severe within hours on Tuesday due to strong winds. The fire started heading toward the upscale area of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles. Many Hollywood stars, including Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, and Michael Keaton, have homes in this area.
As the fire advances towards the western residential areas of the city, 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate to safe shelters. On one side of the Pacific Palisades area, which borders the city of Malibu, there are the Santa Monica Mountains, and on the other side, the beach of the Pacific Ocean. The main route out of the city follows the coastal highway, but as the flames draw closer, the opportunity to leave via this highway has become increasingly limited.
A resident named Marsha Horowitz said that firefighters are telling people to get out of their cars because, with strong winds, the flames are sometimes advancing at speeds over 160 kilometers per hour.
Marsha Horowitz reported that many people have left their cars on one section of the highway, as the fire is approaching that direction.
Another resident of Pacific Palisades told ABC News that upon hearing about the rescue efforts, she quickly left her workplace in Hollywood and rushed home to save her cat. She abandoned her car and ran toward her house. While fleeing to safety, a burning piece of a palm tree fell on her.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “It’s a terrifying situation. It feels like a horror movie. I screamed and cried as I ran down the street.”
Several rescue workers have reported witnessing houses burning down as they fled to protect themselves from the fire.
Among the celebrities who have been forced to flee, leaving behind their homes and other belongings, is Hollywood actor James Woods. Another resident of Pacific Palisades, actor Steve Guttenberg, has urged people to leave their car keys inside their vehicles when abandoning them. He made this request to ensure that firefighters could move the cars if needed to clear a path for firefighting vehicles.
