Wildfires burn in California as polar vortex hits NYC, Washington DC, UK with severe storms
A fast-moving wildfire in LA has burned buildings and sparked panic, with thousands evacuated. Meanwhile, an Arctic blast is hammering the US and UK with dangerous snow, ice and sleet.
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A ferocious wildfire in a Los Angeles suburb devoured buildings and sparked panicked evacuations Tuesday, as hurricane-force winds tore through the region.
Frightened residents abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the upscale Pacific Palisades area, fleeing on foot from the almost 1,200-hectare blaze engulfing an area packed with multimillion-dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Firefighters used bulldozers to push dozens of vehicles -- including expensive models such as BMWs, Teslas and Mercedes -- to one side, leaving many crumpled and with their alarms blaring.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said despite the chaotic evacuation, there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
Hundreds of firefighters swarmed the area, attacking the blaze from the ground and the air, while crews worked through steep terrain to cut back vegetation and create firebreaks.
Around 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate the fast-spreading flames, which leveled multiple homes as powerful winds spread embers far and wide.
🚨 NOW: People are fleeing the Palisades Fire with their horses
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 8, 2025
Many other horses have been set free in order to save their lives
This is an increasingly devastating situation, and authorities are COMPLETELY overwhelmed. pic.twitter.com/pNgM6DNuhK
“We are not out of danger,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, speaking at an afternoon press conference, adding that the winds are expected to pick up.
Across town, on the northern edge of Los Angeles, another fire broke out in Eaton Canyon, near Pasadena, quickly consuming 81 hectares Tuesday night, according to Angeles National Forest officials.
US President Joe Biden -- who was in Los Angeles for a planned announcement on new national monuments -- said he was “being frequently briefed on the wildfires” and has offered “any federal assistance that is needed.”
The fire erupted midmorning and swelled quickly, taking many residents by surprise.
One man, who gave his name as Gary, told broadcaster KTLA that hot ashes were raining down on his community of Sea Ridge.
“There was smoke in the distance, and I was assured that it would not come over the hill... Five minutes later, it’s coming down the hill,” he said.
“Everyone panicked, that’s when everybody made a run and went to go and pack their houses up.” Evacuee Kelsey Trainor said she saw the fire explode in size as she was fleeing. “By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, which is about two or three miles, there were flames on both sides of the road, and it became gridlocked,” she said.
“No one knew what to do. Everyone was honking their horns. There’s flames all around you.
“I could see people walking with suitcases, with their dogs, children. An elderly woman was really visibly upset and in tears.” Pacific Palisades resident Andrew Hires told AFP he got a text alerting him to the fire as his child was at the dentist about to have a tooth extracted.
“We pulled off the mask and ran to the car,” he said.
The fire erupted mid-morning and swelled quickly, with dozens of firefighters deployed to battle the blaze, including from the air.
Evacuation warnings were in place for a wide area, with the fire twisting and turning in the wind.
Reality TV stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag’s are “devastated” after their house was “burned to the ground”, according to TMZ.
Pratt and Montag were not home at the time, having safely evacuated with their family.
Earlier, Pratt shared a video of a firefighting aircraft dropping water on nearby hills.
One resident, who gave his name as Gary, told KTLA hot ashes were raining down on his community of Sea Ridge.
“I’ve seen this on TV before, and I never thought wind could affect fire like this,” he said.
“There was smoke in the distance, and I was assured that it would not come over the hill... Five minutes later, it’s coming down the hill. Everyone panicked, that’s when everybody made a run and went to go and pack their houses up.”
Pacific Palisades resident Andrew Hires told AFP he got a text alerting him to the fire as his child was at the dentist about to have a tooth extracted.
“We pulled off the mask and ran to car,” he said.
“We got stuck for 20 minutes at corner of Palisades Drive and Sunset where kids were getting evacuated from Calvary School.”
The fire came as the area was being hit by seasonal Santa Ana winds that forecasters said could develop into the worst windstorm in a decade, with gusts of up to 160 kilometres an hour expected.
“This looks pretty, pretty concerning,” said meteorologist Daniel Swain. “It’s going to be, I think, a rough night. And what’s going on now is only just the beginning, because weather conditions are going to get a lot worse.”
“HEADS UP!!! A LIFE-THREATENING, DESTRUCTIVE, Widespread Windstorm is expected Tue afternoon-Weds morning across much of Ventura/LA,” the NWS said.
Red flag warnings of critical fire danger -- the highest level of alert -- were expected to remain in place until Thursday evening.
With a huge pall of smoke visible over the whole of Los Angeles, events throughout the area were cancelled, including a red-carpet premiere of Jennifer Lopez’s new film Unstoppable.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said President Biden has approved federal aid to help firefighters respond to the conflagration.
“No politics, no hand wringing, no kissing the feet. The president of the United States said, ‘Yes. What else do you need?’” he told reporters.
Incoming president Donald Trump has previously threatened to withhold wildfire aid from Democrat-run California.
Wildfires are an expected part of life in the US West and play a vital role in nature.
But scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns. Southern California had two decades of drought that were followed by two exceptionally wet years, which sparked furious vegetative growth -- leaving the region packed with fuel and primed to burn.
UK STORM WREAKS HAVOC
A man’s body has been recovered from floodwaters at Yorkshire, in the north of England, while fifty children were rescued from a flooded school in Lincolnshire, in the Midlands, as wild weather batters the British Isles, bringing intense rain and snow.
Almost 200 flood warnings have been issued across the England, including a new severe warning in Leicestershire which authorities say could trigger a large-scale evacuation.
Manchester and Liverpool were forced to close their airports.
Warnings for snow and ice are also in place for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales until Tuesday local time, as the storm system disrupts roads, railways and airports.
The UK also recorded its coldest night of the winter so far as the Arctic blast moves south, with a temperature of -13.3 degrees Celsius recorded in Scotland.
STORM SYSTEM BATTERS US
A huge swathe of the US has been hit with ice, snow and wind as the polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend kept much of the country in its frigid grip, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures and causing power outages and flight cancellations.
The immense storm system brought disruption to areas of the country that usually escape winter’s wrath, downing trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and causing people in Dallas to dip deep into their wardrobes for warm hats and gloves.
Washington, D.C., received heavy snow as President-elect Donald Trump’s victory was certified. Taking advantage of the rare snowstorm in the nation’s capital, revellers engaged in a snowball fight in front of the Washington Monument as flags flew at half-mast in memory of former President Jimmy Carter.
The weather is affecting more than 60 million Americans who are under severe winter storm alerts across the United States as a powerful weather system sweeps through the Midwest and Northeast of the country, with warning set to extend to the parts of the South as well.
300,000 PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER
Around 300,000 people in the states Kansas and Missouri are already without power and several stores are running out of essential goods.
Video posted by the Weather Channel showed cars skidding off ice-coated highways and semi-trailers jackknifing in Kansas.
The severe weather is hammering the states of Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, where snow-covered roads caused numerous accidents over the weekend, highways have been smothered in blankets of snow, and planes grounded on the tarmac buried in white.
More than 1500 flights were cancelled and hundreds delayed, according to airline tracking websites Poweroutage.us and FlightAware.
MILLIONS UNDER WEATHER ALERTS
Millions from Nebraska to Texas and east to Louisiana are also under cold weather alerts, where low temperatures below freezing are forecast.
By Tuesday, local time, perishing temperatures as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit below normal are likely for the eastern two-thirds of the US.
The governors of Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia and Maryland have declared a state of emergency in their states, and have taken to social media to warn residents to stay home.
The massive storm system tracked eastwards after bringing blizzard conditions to states including Kansas and Missouri, and dumped heavy snow and freezing rain on large swathes of the eastern United States on Monday, disrupting travel and work for millions of Americans from the Ohio Valley to the capital Washington, AFP reports.
TRUMP CERTIFICATION FORGES AHEAD
America’s National Weather Service (NWS) predicts up to a foot of snow in Washington D.C., where Congress forged ahead with the certification of Donald Trump’s election victory.
The capital was covered with white as residents waded through the snow and House Speaker Mike Johnson called for “full attendance” of the joint session of Congress.
The NWS warned thunderstorms could also impact southeastern states, potentially bringing hail and tornadoes, and that accumulations of up to a half-inch of ice in some areas.
CONCERN OVER THICK ICE
Another major concern is freezing rain, because a thick coating of ice will make travel hazardous, bring down trees and topple electricity lines, authorities warned.
Conditions could prove especially perilous in Appalachia, where a deadly hurricane in late September devastated communities in multiple southeastern states including Kentucky.
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Originally published as Wildfires burn in California as polar vortex hits NYC, Washington DC, UK with severe storms
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