A ferocious new wildfire has erupted in the Hollywood Hills – sparking a mass evacuation of the iconic Hollywood Boulevard amid warnings that another 100,000 residents should be prepared to evacuate their homes.
The hellish, fast-moving inferno sweeping through the Hills triggered the urgent evacuation order at 6pm local time on Wednesday – impacting at least 50 acres already near Runyon Canyon.
At least five people have lost their lives in the devastating natural disaster so far – with 1,000 structures completely obliterated and thousands of people left with nothing but ash across the City of Angels.
Now, the Sunset Fire is set to wreak burning havoc in the celebrity epicenter, causing the famous strip, home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TLC Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl, to be evacuated.
The alert read: ‘A Mandatory Evacuation Order is now in place for Laurel Canyon Blvd (on the west) to Mulholland Dr (on the north) to 101 Freeway (on the east) down to Hollywood Blvd (on the south).’
Witnesses who spotted the new blaze said that the flames ‘exploded in size,’ because the area is fertile with dense brush that is unfortunately spurring on the inferno.
Fire crews are dropping water from the skies in an effort to contain the blaze and stop the spread to nearby neighborhoods.
But embers are beginning to fly ahead of the main fire and catch onto buildings, with video capturing at least one residential building catching alight as of Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, stone-faced Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has stayed quiet after her city was razed by the wildfires – refusing to comment after she personally cut the LA Fire Department’s budget by $17.6 million in 2024.
Speaking from above the blaze in a helicopter, ABC 7 reporter Chris Christi said: ‘Very concerning sight here. Just north of Hollywood Boulevard. This thing has exploded in size. This is all very thick fuel that is fueling this brush fire.
‘They have immediately called for the 20 closest trucks to come out here, but accessing this fire is going to require more than trucks.
‘This thing is blowing up before our eyes. It is a very sizeable fire that is spreading rapidly.’
Hollywood High School is serving as an evacuation center, but traffic down from the Hills is already at a complete gridlock as residents attempt to flee, sparking fears there will be similar mass-panic as seen in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, when people abandoned their cars in the street and bulldozers were required to clear the way.
Traffic is backed up in Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City as thousands of residents heed warnings that the fast-moving fire is approaching.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department gave a chilling warning as the fire ramped up on Wednesday, telling locals: ‘Be prepared, pack important documents and gather family, children and pets now. We will update with information as it becomes available.’
Thousands of homes and structures have already been lost across California, but with fires still burning it’s impossible for officials to get a grip on the true scale of loss.
A trio of the smaller fires which were burning across the state are now contained, but at least three are still burning in addition to the Hollywood Hills blaze which has just ignited.
The Pacific Palisades – which was the first luxurious area to be engulfed in the fires – is home to the likes of Miles Teller, Anthony Hopkins, and John Goodman.
But the Hollywood Hills is perhaps the most sought-after celebrity zip code in the world, with big names such as Salma Hayek and Quentin Tarantino residing in the area.
Mayor of Pasadena Victor M. Gordo revealed on Wednesday afternoon 100,000 people were already under mandatory evacuation orders, and there are another 100,000 now warned to also leave, the New York Times reported.
The alert has been given to residents in danger zones which have not yet been upgraded to mandatory evacuation areas, but could soon be.
Kyle Alarid, a captain with the Palo Alto Fire Department, said stretched first responders and fire crews are ‘triaging’ homes in fire-ravaged neighborhoods.
He said it is simply not possible to save them all, despite the best efforts of the exhausted crew, who worked through the night to protect what they could.
‘It’s always hard, because you can save one but it feels like you can never save enough.’
To make matters worse, the National Weather Service says gusty winds and very dry conditions would continue to fuel fires in the Los Angeles area in the days ahead.
Forecasters predicted wind gusts of 35 to 55 mph, which could rise higher in the mountains and foothills.
Meteorologists said Los Angeles and Ventura counties would have weather conducive to fire through Friday, meaning low relative humidity, strong winds, unstable air and drought.
A small silver lining is that winds have temporarily dissipated enough for aircraft to assist in fighting the fires, Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustine said.
‘Tonight we have very mild wind conditions where we can get aircraft and a ton of additional resources getting their hands around this fire,’ Augustin said.
‘That’s what gives me confidence that we’re going to get a handle on this fire.’
After a brief reprieve overnight tonight, wilds are expected to pick up again on Thursday and into Friday.
The fire chief warned that it was still an active fire with risk of spread over the next day.
‘Do I expect a risk of fire spread tomorrow? Yes. Do I expect erratic fire weather like we saw last night? No,’ he said.
In the wake of the carnage, President Joe Biden has canceled a scheduled trip to Italy and granted additional federal funding.
He announced on Wednesday night: ‘I’ve approved Governor Newsom’s request for a major disaster declaration and ordered Federal assistance to supplement response efforts in areas affected by wildfires, ensuring impacted communities and survivors have immediate access to funds and resources to begin their recovery.’
Authorities in California said that the Palisades fire has now grown to 15,832 acres, while the Eaton fire stands at 10,600 acres, followed by the Hurst at 505 acres.
Three other smaller fires which broke out throughout Wednesday have since been contained, authorities said.
And now, locals the ritziest neighborhoods in Los Angeles – home to celebrity enclaves and million-dollar mansions, have received alerts warning them to boil their tap water before consumption.
‘This applies to water that is used for brushing teeth, making ice cubes, and food preparation such as washing produce,’ the notice states.
In bold, capitalized letters, residents are warned that until further notice, they must ‘only use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes.’
Tap water should be boiled for one minute and then cooled.
The alert comes amid revelations that water supplies have been running low, impacting the heroic efforts of first responders trying to put out the blazes.
Los Angeles Fire Captain Erik Scott said: ‘We did experience some challenges with water pressure while battling the Pacific Palisades fire, particularly yesterday.’
‘We worked real closely with the Department of Water and Power, and they did proactively fill all of the available water storage tanks. But the problem is, the water availability was impacted at the higher elevations. The pressure wasn’t quite what we needed, and so it affected some fire hydrants.’
In all, three enormous water tanks carrying a million gallons of water each ran out.
The first was dry by 4.45pm Tuesday, the second by 8.30pm and the third at 3am Wednesday.
