Wildfires Ravage Los Angeles: 10 Dead, Hundreds of Thousands Evacuated, Hollywood Stars Lose Lavish Homes
The death toll from the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area has risen to at least ten, authorities said. New fires continue to break out. US President Joe Biden has promised additional federal funds and resources to fight the ‘most... destructive fire in California history,’ CNN reports.
Entire neighbourhoods have been devastated, with around 10,000 buildings destroyed between the Palisades Coastal Fire, now the most destructive in the county's history, and the Eaton Fire.
Many residents will wake up to dangerous conditions, as polluted air poses a threat - even to those far from the flames.
Residents have been urged to leave their homes and businesses. Nearly 180,000 people in the county are under evacuation orders and another 200,000 are under evacuation warnings.
Areas of Los Angeles County are under a curfew with an evacuation order from 6:00pm to 6:00am every night as authorities try to crack down on looters in areas affected by the wildfires.
Paris Hilton showed the charred remains of her Malibu home in a video posted to X on Thursday.
‘I stand here in what was once our home and my heart is truly indescribable,’ she wrote in the post.
Hilton said she found out her Malibu home was lost while watching it burn live on TV, writing on her Instagram page that it was an image ‘no one should ever have to experience.’
When Jimmy Wang and his family evacuated their Altadena home on Tuesday night, he ‘100% believed’ he would return the next day to ‘minor damage’.
However, when they returned to their home the next day, they found their neighbourhood, including their house, had been burned to the ground.
‘I often wonder if I could have made a difference if I had stayed and used my hose,’ Wang told CNN.
The familiar streets of Los Angeles are turning into a Hollywood horror film set, the Daily Mail reports. Some of the city's most famous residents, including Sir Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, Anna Faris, Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton, all lost their homes.
