Los Angeles County authorities (California, USA) have set the highest level of danger ever recorded in the region due to wildfires, the American television channel CNN reported on Thursday, Interfax-Tourism reports.
Los Angeles has been placed under lockdown emergency situation.
It is noted that fires are currently raging in four separate areas in the southern part of the state. The total area affected by the fires has already reached almost 50 thousand hectares.
The largest fire, dubbed the Thomas Fire, has burned more than 85,000 acres in Ventura County, and the state fire marshal has warned residents of the county that there is a “high probability of severe fire spread.”
"We're in for a challenging night and day," state fire spokesman Tim Chavez said at a news conference, noting that high winds and extremely dry vegetation in the region are making it difficult to fight the fire.
Earlier, state authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 200,000 people.
Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Ventura County.
Several hundred buildings have reportedly burned in the southern parts of the state, with at least three firefighters injured while fighting the blazes.
In addition, local media reported the death of one person as a result of a traffic accident caused by a fire.
The spread of the fire has also caused power outages, with more than 260,000 people in the south of the state without power.
CNN noted that residents of the prestigious Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air, where many Hollywood celebrities live, were also evacuated.
Part of the Moraga Bel Air vineyard owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been destroyed in a fire. Homes worth tens of millions of dollars owned by Hollywood stars including Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Harrison Ford and Jennifer Lopez are at risk, The Mirror reports.
Source: trn-news.ru
