WEB DESK
In the United States, the massive wildfires in the plush towns of California’s Los Angeles have killed five people, burnt down thousands of structures and led to the evacuation of thousands. The developments prompted outgoing US President Joe Biden to cancel his last foreign trip to Italy to monitor raging wildfires across the Los Angeles area.
Wildfires in Los Angeles started on Tuesday and have grown to engulf several areas, including residences of celebrities at the plush Pacific Palisades, which is among the first areas to have been trapped in the wildfires. By yesterday, there were three major blazes in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other Los Angeles neighborhoods that scores of firefighters were battling to douse amid windy conditions. Tens of thousands of residents have fled their homes to save their lives from the fast-moving Palisades fire. Several expensive cars were destroyed in the fire as firefighters used bulldozers to make way.
More than one thousand have been destroyed, over seventy thousand people rescued and many people have suffered injuries. These numbers were expected to increase.
The recent wildfires in Los Angeles are largely driven by rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, both of which are linked to climate change.