More than 1,000 firefighters on Monday battled a wind-driven blaze that broke out near the Getty Center in Los Angeles, prompting widespread evacuations as the flames destroyed several homes and forced the shutdown of schools and roads.
The so-called Getty Fire ignited overnight near a major freeway and quickly spread south and west toward neighborhoods, scorching about 240 hectares and sending people fleeing in the dark.
By Monday afternoon, fire crews had slowed the pace of the blaze and were racing to contain it before strong winds were expected to hit the region again yesterday evening through tomorrow.
Photo: AFP
About 1,100 firefighters were battling an inferno that threatened 10,000 structures, many of them multimillion-dollar homes, authorities said.
Among those forced to flee was Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who said on Twitter that he and his family had evacuated his home in the upscale neighborhood of Brentwood during the night.
“Man these LA fires aren’t no joke,” James said. “Had to emergency evacuate my house and I’ve been driving around with my family trying to get rooms. No luck so far!”
He later said that he had found a place to stay.
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also said that he had to flee.
“We evacuated safely at 3:30 this morning,” Schwarzenegger said on Twitter. “If you are in an evacuation zone, don’t screw around. Get out.”
Monday night’s red carpet premiere in Los Angeles of Terminator: Dark Fate, starring Schwarzenegger, was canceled because of the fire.
“We will be donating food intended for the after-party to the American Red Cross, which is serving those affected by the fires,” Paramount Pictures said in a statement.
The Getty Center, which is home to a priceless art collection, said that none of the pieces were under threat from the flames, notably because the building is designed to be fire-resistant.
“Many have asked about the art — it is protected by state-of-the-art technology,” the museum said on Twitter.
The Getty Fire broke out as California has been dealing with a number of wildfires that have ignited throughout the state in the past week, forcing massive evacuations and power cuts.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday declared a statewide emergency as a wind-driven fire in the Sonoma wine region north of San Francisco spread out of control, forcing tens of thousands to flee.
The Kincade Fire, which erupted on Wednesday last week and is the largest so far this year, had spread to more than 26,709 hectares by Monday afternoon and was only 15 percent contained.
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