Thousands in Southern California forced to evacuate as wildfires surge

The fires have led to widespread emergency declarations. Pic/AFP

Tens of thousands of residents in Southern California have been forced to evacuate as a series of fast-moving wildfires ravage the region, CNN reported. The most destructive, the Palisades fire, is spreading rapidly across Los Angeles, with homes destroyed and major roads closed. Authorities are scrambling to manage the situation, with widespread evacuations and emergency declarations.

The out-of-control Palisades fire, which has burned more than 2,900 acres, is blazing through nearly five football fields per minute. It has prompted an emergency declaration from Los Angeles officials, who warned that the worst is yet to come due to the "tornado-like" winds complicating the firefighting efforts.

As the fire approached key roads, including Sunset Boulevard, many drivers were told by fire officials to abandon their vehicles and flee. Two new fires erupted in Los Angeles on Tuesday. One has scorched 100 acres, while the other grew to 1,000 acres in just six hours.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever