Thursday 27 / June / 2024
Los Angeles: Authorities in California faced a new wildfire in Los Angeles as its firefighters were struggling to contain two massive blazes in the north and the south of the state on Monday.
The new blaze was reported early on Monday near LA's famed Getty Center museum. Authorities ordered evacuation of some 10,000 residences in the area, including many properties owned by California's wealthy elite on the west side of the city. At least five multimillion-dollar homes in the posh area of Brentwood have been destroyed, although it was not immediately clear who the owners were.
Hollywood legend and former governor of the US state, Arnold Schwarzenegger, confirmed he had left his home overnight.
"If you are in an evacuation zone, don't screw around. Get out," he wrote on Twitter.
NBA star LeBron James said he was "driving around with my family trying to get rooms" after being forced to evacuate.
The firefighters in LA reported being "literally overwhelmed" while fighting the Getty fire overnight, local Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said.
"They had to make some tough decisions on which houses they were able to protect," he said.
While the cause of the fires were not immediately clear, local power company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) said their power lines may have caused two fires near San Francisco. The company's equipment has been blamed for a series of destructive fires in recent years, and the risk has now been compounded by high winds and dried out vegetation.
The state's governor, Gavin Newsom, sharply criticised PG&E this week, saying that they have failed to upgrade their infrastructure due to greed and mismanagement.
