Written by Amni Azizan
Edited by Harith Syafiee
CALIFORNIA, 14th January 2025: Since Tuesday, almost 180,000 residents in different neighbourhoods of Los Angeles City have been ordered to evacuate from their homes amid the spreading wildfire in California.
The first fire started around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 7th in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles as reported by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
As of 12th January, the death toll has reached 24, and authorities have indicated that it will take weeks to confirm the identities of the victims due to the ongoing situation.
Satellite image of affected area | Source: Maxar Technologies/DigitalGlobe/Getty Images
There are several factors that contributed to the ongoing wildfire in California. For one, Southern California has experienced drought conditions and insignificant rainfall for a few months. Plus, the dry conditions from Santa Ana’s powerful winds are likely to trigger the wildfire.
Since the rapid spread of the wildfire, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) issued evacuation orders to residents to evacuate from their homes in Hollywood, Hurst and the Palisades. Fire crews have been dispatched throughout the affected area to contain the spread.
Another wildfire as similarly destructive as the current one is the Woolsey fire, which happened in November 2018 and caused damage throughout Ventura and Los Angeles counties, including Malibu. —TBC
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