The wild wind fire that broke out of Los Angeles on Tuesday night, killing five people has gradually move to Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night. The Sunset Fire was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A fire chief tells the BBC the Hollywood Hills blaze is rapidly expanding with “zero” chance of containing it. Paris Hilton is among the A-list stars describing the heartbreak of losing their homes. The scope of the destruction was just becoming clear: Block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to nothing but charred remains dotted by stone fireplaces and blackened arched entryways. The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighborhoods, including Calabasas and Santa Monica, home to California’s rich and famous. Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton are among the stars who said Wednesday they lost homes. Billy Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades Fire. “We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away,” the Crystals wrote in the statement. In Palisades Village, the public library, two major grocery stores, a pair of banks and several boutiques were destroyed. “It’s just really weird coming back to somewhere that doesn’t really exist anymore,” said Dylan Vincent, who returned to the neighborhood to retrieve some items and saw that his elementary school had burned down and that whole blocks had been flattened. The fires have consumed a total of about 42 square miles (108 square kilometers) — nearly the size of the entire city of San Francisco. Flames moved so quickly that many barely had time to escape. Police sought shelter inside their patrol cars, and residents at a senior living center were pushed in wheelchairs and hospital beds down a street to safety. In the race to get away in Pacific Palisades, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot. Several Hollywood studios suspended production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park between Pasadena and Pacific Palisades. As of Wednesday evening, more than 456,000 people were without power in southern California, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us. California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May. The winds increased to 80 mph (129 kph) Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service. Forecasters predicted wind gusts of 35-55 mph (56 to 88 kph) that could rise higher in the mountains and foothills. Fire conditions could last through Friday.
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