As multiple wildfires continue to burn out of control in Los Angeles, forcing thousands to evacuate, tearing down entire neighbourhoods, and ravaging thousands of acres of land, the glittering city — home to Hollywood superstars and the who's who of the American film industry — turned orange due to the raging blazes.
Hundreds of fire fighters deployed in carrying out rescue missions were stretched thin as the flames swallowed acre after acre on the west and east side of Los Angeles. Amid this, several videos have surfaced on social media, showing how people battled the flames to save their lives, leaving behind their plush houses.
In one such video, two friends who were determined to save their home in North Rustic Canyon in Los Angeles, had to ultimately give up and run away, despite their relentless efforts to fire-proof the property as the Palisades wildfire burned down everything that came in its way.
The Palisades Fire, which broke out on Tuesday morning near the Pacific Palisades on the western side of Los Angeles, is currently the largest blaze, which has so far destroyed 17,234 acres of land, Los Angeles Times reported.
The video, shared by one Tanner Charles, shows the heart-stopping moment when he and his friend Orly Israel had no option left but to abandon their home. Visuals show Charles and Israel running down a street as fire burns down homes in the neighbourhood.
In the post accompanying the video, Charles wrote: “Video of the moment my friend and I abandoned his house after we tried to save what we could. Please be praying for him and his family @orlylistens. Location: North of Rustic Canyon.”
According to a report by The New York Times, Israel had earlier evacuated the home with his parents and brother, packing only their most valued possessions, including his personal journals and treasured books. As they watched the fire approach their neighbourhood, they watched from their bedroom window for sometime, before deciding to return and attempt to save their home.
However, when they returned they saw the whole backyard on fire, with flames crawling up the trunk of a massive tree in their front yard, only to realise that they could not fight the fire back and sprinted down the street to save their lives.
Besides the Palisades fire, four other fires are raging in Los Angeles. These include Eaton, Hurst, Lidia, and Sunset. According to Los Angeles Times, Eaton, which erupted near Pasadena has burned own 10,600 acres, and is continuing to grow.
Smaller fires in burning in the San Fernando Valley include Hurst, which has burned 855 acres, and Lidia 348 acres. Sunset, which started near the Hollywood Hills, has burned down 42 acres so far.
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'It Looks Apocalyptic'
Another video on the social media showed the landscape in Los Angeles divided into three scenes, including an almost black sky due to smoke from the wildfires above an eerily orange backdrop as the sun tries to peak through the towering buildings.
"Never ever seen anything like this...There is so much smoke...This is wild," a man can be heard saying in the video.
In another post on X, a man is filming a video from inside a house they are locked in surrounded by raging Palisades fire. Another man and a dog can also be seen in the video with him. The flames are so massive that everything in the house seems to be orange.
The video was captioned: "This is by far the craziest video from the fire in Los Angeles. This guy is filming huge walls of fire surrounding a house they're in, and there's another person and a dog. I have no idea why they didn't evacuate or what happened to them. Let's hope they're okay."
Another video showed patients being evacuated rapidly from a hospital in beds and wheelchairs as flames begin closing in. "This looks like literal hell', the post's caption read.
The wildfires have claimed five lives so far, and forced thousands of people, including celebrities to evacuate their homes. US President Joe Biden has directed the Department of Defence to provide additional firefighting personnel and air support to California. Curfew has been imposed in Santa Monica from sunset to sunrise in areas under a mandatory evacuation order due to the Palisades fire.