Wildfires In Southern California Cause Traffic Jams

“Run For Your Life”: Thousands Flee As Wildfires Spread Across California

Three major wildfires that began Tuesday continued to spread unabated across 🇺🇸 Los Angeles County early Wednesday, propelled by powerful winds, as authorities ordered the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and warned the situation could worsen in the morning.

Three major wildfires—the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire and the Hurst Fire—now cover nearly 4,500 acres of area around Los Angeles County, with 0% of the fires contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

A major traffic jam was reported in the area as tens of thousands of people attempted to flee the fire—including some who reportedly abandoned their vehicles on the road—which prevented emergency vehicles from reaching the affected areas.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday night as he urged residents to heed the evacuation order and said, “This is a highly dangerous windstorm creating extreme fire risk, and we’re not out of the woods.”

Newsom’s office also said the state had secured a “Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of vital resources” to tackle all three fires.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning (warm temperatures, strong winds and low humidity) for Southern California that spans from Tuesday to Wednesday in the Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and from Tuesday to Thursday in the San Bernadino, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

CNN || Al Jazeera

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