From Tom Hanks to Adam Sandler and Steven Spielberg: the Hollywood stars who live in the Californian oasis of Pacific Palisades find themselves facing the emergency linked to the fires that have been attacking villas, buildings and woods for hours. Northwest of Los Angeles, between Malibu and Santa Monica, people are on the run. The wind, which blows at over eighty kilometers an hour, pushes the flames.
«We are at 0% containment»: This was stated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, as reported by Sku News. The fire, they explain, is showing “extreme behavior” and continues to “test” the work of the emergency services. Strong wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour are expected to continue throughout the day causing the fires to spread.
The stars are leaving their residences. Actor James Woods filmed the fire in front of his villa and posted the images on X.
In this area Hanks has a residence worth over 25 million dollars. Other celebrities live here such as Billy Crystal, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Guttenberg, Adam Sandler, Bradley Cooper, Kate Hudson and the rapper Andre Romell Young, known as Dr Dre.
There are already at least 200,000 customers in Los Angeles County currently without electricity due to the devastating fire that has already burned almost 3000 acres: the BBC reports, adding that some school districts have announced closures due to strong winds and power outages.
Columns of black smoke, streets clogged with cars abandoned by drivers and passengers fleeing amidst ash and violent gusts. The city has declared a state of emergency: over 30 thousand people under evacuation orders and 13 thousand buildings under threat. President Joe Biden had to cancel his trip to Coachella, east of the Californian metropolis, planned to inaugurate two national monuments.
Meanwhile, a new, separate fire front in Los Angeles County, east of the city, has doubled in size to 400 acres. The Eaton fire in Altadena, as CNN reports, also forced the need for evacuations.
Fire crews are trying to put out the Eaton flames but there are many difficulties related to the extreme winds that prevent the use of aircraft, as explained by city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.