Already five dead

Hollywood locks down! Fire roller hits movie mecca

The famous Hollywood Hills are already in flames.

(Bild: MARIO TAMA/Getty Images)

Hollywood closes down! The fire inferno in Los Angeles has prompted the authorities to take drastic action. Residents and tourists have now been urged to evacuate the area immediately due to the blaze. Several movie stars were able to save themselves at the last second.

"Immediate danger to life. This is a legal order to leave the area now," explained the Los Angeles Fire Department. The area was closed to the public, it said. Meanwhile, outgoing US President Joe Biden canceled his trip to Italy planned for Thursday due to the fires.

An attached map showed that the evacuation order affected historic parts of the Los Angeles district, world-famous as a film dream factory. The new fire had broken out just a few hundred meters from the famous Hollywood Boulevard.

Sea of flames reaches Hollywood Hills
The fire, dubbed the "Sunset Fire", began on Wednesday evening (local time), according to the Cal Fire fire protection authority, and has now reached the famous Hollywood Hills. According to media reports, the flames are spreading rapidly from Runyon Canyon towards the famous Hollywood Boulevard. Several helicopters dropping water could be seen near the source of the fire, according to a CBS report.

Several out-of-control forest fires are raging around the Californian metropolis of Los Angeles. Before the evacuation order for Hollywood, around 70,000 residents in other areas had already been ordered to leave their homes.

Villas burn down, five dead
In the posh suburb of Pacific Palisades in the Santa Monica Mountains, around 6,500 hectares and around a thousand buildings have already burned to the ground. Forest fires also broke out in Santa Clarita, in the San Fernando Valley and in the northern suburb of Altadena. According to the authorities, at least five people lost their lives, although the Sheriff of Los Angeles, Robert Luna, said he feared further fatalities.

Luxury villas burn down in the luxury resort of Malibu.

(Bild: AFP/AGUSTIN PAULLIER)

The fires are fanned by strong winds. The fire department does not have enough water to extinguish the fires due to the drought in the area.

The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, fears an increase in the number of victims. In an interview with CNN, he spoke of "utter devastation" and recalled the deadly fires in Paradise, a town in northern California. It was almost completely destroyed by the Camp Fire in November 2018, killing 85 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Film stars flee their homes
"Star Wars" actor Mark Hamill (73) told his Instagram followers that he had left his house in Malibu "at the last minute". He had already seen flames at the side of the road. Jamie Lee Curtis mourned the loss of her home in Pacific Palisades. "Our beloved neighborhood is gone," she wrote on Instagram. Her own house had been spared, but so many other people had lost everything.

This includes Hollywood comedian Billy Crystal. He and his wife Janice had lost the house they had lived in since 1979, the actor told the Hollywood Reporter. "Of course we are heartbroken, but with the love of our children and our friends, we will get through this". The homes of actor couple Adam Brody and Leighton Meester and actress Anna Faris were also burned down, reported celebrity portal TMZ.com.

President Biden cancels trip to Italy
Due to the devastating fires in California, outgoing US President Joe Biden canceled his planned trip to Italy and an audience with Pope Francis on Thursday. His spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre announced that Biden wanted to focus on leading the overall federal response to the fires in the coming days. Biden wanted to travel to Italy shortly before his farewell as US President - an audience with Pope Francis was planned.