Los Angeles on alert following city's largest wildfire
Hundreds of evacuees were allowed to return to their homes on Sept. 4 after a wildfire broke out in Los Angeles, California on Sept. 1.
Evacuations in the Glendale and Burbank suburbs have been lifted, as rain and cooler temperatures helped the containment of the wildfires, according to a tweet by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Sixteen large wildfires, ranging from 29 acres to as large as 68,400 acres, have been contained enough to allow LA residents to come home. The fires started in La Tuna on Sept. 1, prompting a state of emergency proclamation from California Gov. Jerry Brown. This was following the Ponderosa Fire, which began on Aug. 29.
On Sept. 3, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti advised residents that the situation remained dangerous and it was the "largest fire in the history of LA city in terms of its acreage."
"We do not have this fire contained," Garcetti said. "But we do have a good sense of, in the next day or two, how we can bring this fire to rest."
Evacuation orders were given to residents from Berry Creek, Brush Creek and Mountain House. Around 1,500 residents were evacuated since the blaze started, according to Paul Lowenthal, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
As of press time, at least 32 homes have been reported as destroyed and four people have reportedly been injured. The fire has burned around 4,000 acres of land.
Around 6,000 firefighters were on the ground across LA, battling temperatures that went up 20 degrees hotter than usual on Sunday. California has been in the middle of a heatwave, contributing to the difficulty of containing the wildfires across LA.
The fire reportedly started from an out-of-control campfire, ignited outside a designated campground and allowed to escape. Orville resident John Ballenger, 29, has been arrested on suspicion of recklessly starting the campfire, said CAL FIRE.
Major fires have also been reported in other areas in the United States, with Montana and Washington state already under states of emergency.
