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11 October 2019 Maximum warning in California due to major fires, which also developed around Los Angeles and which forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes. At least one person died, dozens of houses were destroyed or damaged and 100,000 people received the forced evacuation order. The fire, nicknamed Saddleridge Fire, broke out on Thursday evening and devastated nearly 2,000 hectares, fed by hot winds and dry soil.Not even a year after Camp Fire, one of the most disastrous fires in the history of the United States, in which about 50 people lost their lives, Los Angeles therefore falls back into the nightmare with Saddleridge fire.
The fire developed during the night in the metropolitan area of the city and so far has caused the death of a person, cut short by a cardiac arrest, the wounding of a firefighter and the forced evacuation of about 100 thousand residents, as well as of a juvenile prison.
Dozens of homes have also gone up in smoke and part of three of the most important highways have been closed, such as schools.
The flames are fed by strong winds and according to Ralph Terrazas, head of the Los Angeles fire department, they burn over 300 hectares per hour. "Do not wait to leave - Terrazas said during an appeal launched on television - if we ask you to evacuate, please evacuate". "I saw with my own eyes - Los Angeles police chief Michel Moore echoed - people trying to tame the flames with garden pumps. These individuals are a risk not only for themselves in situations of imminent danger but also for the firemen who feel obliged to save them ". Over a thousand firefighters have been deployed in the fire area. However at the moment the flames are contained "at 0%" precisely because of the strong winds. As in the San Francisco area - where the company Pacific gas and electric (Pg & E) has left thousands of people in the dark in an attempt to prevent trees cut down by strong winds from overwhelming high-voltage lines and igniting dry vegetation - also the Socal Edison has implemented a preventive blackout which at the moment has affected around 20,000 residents in the Los Angeles area, letting it be known that it could be extended if the situation worsens.
Last Wednesday, however, the black out in the bay area, the wine region north of San Francisco, the agricultural area of the Central valley and the Sierra Nevada left about two million people without electricity. The following day, with the improvement in weather conditions, the number fell to just over 500 thousand.
Meanwhile, almost in conjunction with Saddleridge fire, another fire developed south of Los Angeles, in Riverside County. According to some American media reports, the fire was caused by some burning rubbish thrown into the vegetation by a garbage truck. Also the latter, called Sandalwood fire, caused the evacuation of hundreds of people and destroyed several homes. The two fires are only the latest in terms of a total of 275 that have already developed this year throughout the state of California.