A massive fire is spreading through Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley causing huge damage to property and forcing evacuation of more than one lakh people.
At least one person is reported dead and several injured by the wildfire which escalated from 1,600 acres just after 2 am (local time) Friday to more than 7,500 acres in the afternoon, the Washington Post reported.
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“More than 1,000 firefighters from @LAFD and our partner agencies are working tirelessly throughout the night to protect families and keep our city safe as they fight the fire,” wrote Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles on Twitter.
More than 1,000 firefighters from @LAFD and our partner agencies are working tirelessly throughout the night to protect families and keep our city safe as they fight the #SaddleridgeFire. pic.twitter.com/CKkowbFfcC
— Mayor Eric Garcetti (@MayorOfLA) October 12, 2019
The massive wildfire has forced the northern California power authority to shut off electricity to almost one million people.
“Affected people are being relocated the evacuated people to three various relief centres including Porter Ranch Town Centre and Sylmar Recreation Centre,” wrote LA City Emergency Management Department on twitter.
Earlier, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued emergency declarations on Friday in response to the fire.
This is how firefighters fight the flames, they encircle a house under threat and fight back the flames. These people aren’t just brave people with hoses, they are engineers thinking on their feet, creating barricades, improvising. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/V8fG0Ywomc
— Arnab Ray (@greatbong) October 12, 2019
Moreover, the local residents were posting pictures on social media who were caught amid the blazing fire, “This is what I saw when I was woken up by the police. You have 5 minutes to leave. It was 12.30 at night, I was asleep,” wrote Arnab Ray on Twitter.
(ANI)