As of January 9th local time, the worst wildfire in Los Angeles' history is still sweeping across the city. The core area of the American film industry has not been spared either. The latest fire that broke out near the landmark Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles on the 8th quickly spread and has already destroyed many buildings.
A wildfire broke out in the southern region of California on January 7th local time, rapidly spreading with strong winds, making Los Angeles County, known as the "City of Angels," a severely affected area. As of the 9th, there are still five large-scale wildfires active in Los Angeles County, which have destroyed thousands of houses and buildings. The flames roar through communities and streets with strong winds, and wherever they go, there is a sea of flames. The Los Angeles County police said, 'It looks like an atomic bomb has been dropped in these areas.' From the comparison of satellite images before and after the fire and aerial footage after the fire, two large wildfires, the Palisades and Eaton, caused extremely serious damage. After the fires, it was a scorched earth, like the end of the world in a movie, which was shocking.
Because the local weather is dry all year round and the houses are mostly made of wood, it is easy for fires to occur. If the fire doesn't go out, Los Angeles will be burned down, "a woman in Los Angeles told reporters. The air pollution in the downtown area of Los Angeles has sharply increased, with thick smoke filling the air and the entire city seeming to be shrouded in smoke," like a 'wasteland wind' city.
The wildfire that caused massive damage in the Los Angeles area this week may become the deadliest fire in American history. JPMorgan estimates that the insurance claims losses caused by the Los Angeles wildfires could exceed $20 billion. This will far exceed the losses caused by the Camp Fire in 2018.
However, insurance has become a major issue in the local area. It is reported that State Farm, one of the largest insurance companies in California, has refused to renew thousands of policies in the past year. Among them, 1600 policies were issued in the Pacific Palisades community, which was the most severely affected area by the fire. Palisades is a famous affluent area in Southern California, where housing is definitely insured. But if the fire area is too large, the insurance company may play tricks. American actor James Woods revealed, "As early as four months ago, a large insurance company had canceled all fire insurance in our community
According to the National Weather Service of the United States, the wind speed near the wildfire will briefly weaken from the evening of the 10th to the 11th local time, but a new round of "Santa Ana winds" may appear from the evening of the 11th to the 12th, and the wind strength may strengthen again. The "Santa Anna Wind" blows from inland to coastal areas, warm and dry with high wind speed, which easily fuels fires and is known as the "Devil Wind".
Currently, there are 5 dangerous wildfires spreading in Los Angeles.
The Palisades Fire, covering an area of over 19970 acres;
The Eaton Fire, covering an area of approximately 13690 acres;
The Kenneth Fire, covering an area of approximately 1000 acres;
The Hurst Fire, covering an area of approximately 771 acres;
The Lidia Fire has spread to 395 acres.
Los Angeles Mountain Fire Enters Hollywood Hills
On the evening of the 8th local time, a "Sunset Fire" broke out in Hollywood Hills. Near the Hollywood outdoor theater, a raging fire is raging, only 1 kilometer away from the famous Hollywood attraction, the Avenue of Stars.
The Los Angeles City Fire Department immediately issued evacuation orders, requiring residents in the area between Hollywood Boulevard in the south, Mulholland Avenue in the north, Highway 101 in the east, and Laurel Valley Boulevard in the west to evacuate. The above scope involves several iconic locations in the Hollywood film, television, and music industry. The famous Hollywood Sign is right across the highway.
The fire has also spread to globally renowned entertainment landmarks and affluent neighborhoods in Los Angeles, engulfing the homes of several Hollywood movie stars and California celebrities, including Vice President Harris' residence.
On January 8th local time, the press secretary of Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed that Harris' home in Los Angeles has been covered by evacuation orders due to the impact of the Palisade fire. At the time of the incident, the residence was unoccupied.
According to multiple foreign media reports on the 9th, the mansion rented by Hunter Biden, the son of US President Biden, in Malibu has been "flattened" by wildfires. Earlier that day, Biden stated that they had received notification that the residence may have been burned down, but the specific situation is still uncertain.
The mansion of Biden's son and Hollywood star was razed to the ground
The mansion rented by Hunter Biden has been destroyed by wildfires
Paris Hilton and Her House
Hollywood celebrities and their residences
The house where my wife and I lived together for 45 years was destroyed like this. Billy Crystal, an American actor who starred in the classic love movie "When Harry Met Sally," said.
American model Paris Hilton said that she was heartbroken to the point of speechlessness when she saw her seaside home in Malibu "burned to ruins" during a live television broadcast.
After the fire, American pop singer Mandy Moore and Hollywood star Batman actor Ben Affleck, among others, expressed that they had lost their homes.
Due to the large fire, a large number of luxury cars were abandoned on the streets, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, etc. were everywhere, and the fire department had to use forklifts to open the road.
The fire has been brought under control and the film industry may be affected
On the 9th local time, the Los Angeles Fire Department announced that the evacuation order for the area involved in the sunset fire had been lifted, and the burned area in Hollywood Hills had shrunk from the previous 60 acres to 43 acres. The department advises residents returning to their homes to be cautious as staff are still in the area.
In addition to residential areas, some movie studios and backlots near Hollywood have also been damaged to varying degrees. The fire also destroyed several popular locations in the area, such as the filming locations of several TV series such as "Modern Family."
"Due to extreme winds and fire conditions", Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk announced the suspension of business on the 8th. Previously, as the fires spread, more and more television and film production facilities in Hollywood were shut down.
Wildfires around Los Angeles spread to Hollywood Hills today, following five fires that killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes and stretched fire resources and water systems to their limits.
Reuters pointed out that the fire spread rapidly due to strong winds that were dry and strong like a hurricane, and began to spread almost uncontrollably in arid areas from Wednesday. Authorities have ordered more than 100,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
Insurance claims may exceed $20 billion
Faced with frequent wildfires, the insurance market has become overwhelmed, and many insurance companies have responded to frequent natural disasters by refusing to renew or stopping issuing new policies. JPMorgan estimates that insurance claims losses could exceed $20 billion, and this number may continue to rise depending on when the wildfires are finally brought under control.
Palisades is a famous affluent area in Southern California, where housing is definitely insured, and most of them have bought double insurance, one for the house and one for the property in the house. However, if the fire area is too large, the insurance company may 'play tricks' and only pay half or less if possible. Residents near the fire said that if they had only purchased accident insurance without purchasing specialized fire insurance, it could have been very troublesome to claim compensation later and they would have had to argue with the insurance company.
It is reported that the average price of houses in Palisades Village (an area where commercial and social activities are concentrated) is $3.5 million, and 9000 houses have been burned down. A local resident told Wang Shuai, "Specialized fire insurance costs over a thousand dollars a month, which is still very expensive." American actor James Woods revealed, "As early as four months ago, a large insurance company had already canceled all fire insurance in our community
State Farm, one of the largest insurance companies in California, has refused to renew thousands of policies in the past year. This includes 1600 policies in the Pacific Palisades community. The insurance company stated that this is to avoid "financial losses" as simply increasing premiums is no longer sufficient to sustain the company's operations.
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