Powerful wildfires continued to devour Los Angeles’ affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Wednesday, with the authorities struggling to contain what has been described as the most destructive blaze in the city’s history.
Photos and videos show whole blocs completely devastated by the raging flames. ABC7 reporter Josh Haskell, who grew up in the area, said it “feels like 50 to 75% of Pacific Palisades is gone.”
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Pacific Palisades, located between Santa Monica and Malibu, contains some of America’s most expensive real estate, including mansions owned by Hollywood actors such as Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks, and Michael Keaton, according to Business Insider.
More than 1,000 structures have burned, the California Fire Department said. At least five people have been killed and 70,000 more were forced to leave their homes.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been criticized online for embarking on a trip to Africa over the weekend, amid warnings about an incoming windstorm at home. Politicians and developers also blasted her for slashing the budget of the fire department by $17.6 million last year. In a post on Wednesday on X, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk called Bass “utterly incompetent.”