Wildfires threatened to engulf parts of Hollywood on Thursday as a growing number of blazes raged across Los Angeles, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and claiming at least five lives.Over 100,000 people have been told to flee at least five separate blazes, including in the heart of historic Hollywood, just a few hundred meters (yards) from the storied theaters of Hollywood Boulevard.Fighters in helicopters dumped water on the Hollywood Hills blaze where an evacuation order was issued for a number of streets in the historic district.Sharon Ibarra, 29, told AFP she had rushed into Hollywood when she heard of the blaze to see if she could help her boss with her two babies.”I am super nervous, scared because of everything that has happened in the other places,” she said. The sudden eruption created gridlock on Hollywood’s streets, hampering efforts by people who live in the area — a mixture of ritzy homes and rent-controlled apartments — to leave.Fast-moving flames fanned by powerful winds have levelled 1,500 structures, many of them multi-million dollar homes in a rolling tragedy that the US media describe as the worst in the city’s history.Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said his crews were struggling with the scale and speed of the unfolding disasters.”We’re doing the very best we can. But no, we don’t have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this,” he said.New fires appeared to be spotting as embers were thrown up to 2.5 miles (four kilometers) including one that razed a large property late Wednesday in the densely populated Studio City area.Adam Vangerpen of Los Angeles County Fire Department said crews were fighting to stop this new fire from spreading.”It’s a four-story home… we did just have the winds pick up again, so we are seeing some ember casting,” he said.”Our hope is to hit it hard and make sure that we’re trying to keep it out of the brush right now, because with the winds picking up there in the hills, that is a concern of ours.”Millions of Angelenos have watched in horror as a series of blazes have erupted around America’s second biggest city, sparking panic and fear.Winds with gusts up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour spread the fire around the ritzy Pacific Palisades neighborhood with lightning speed.At least 16,000 acres (6,500 hectares) burned there, with 1,000 homes and businesses razed.A separate 10,600-acre (4,300-hectare) fire was burning around Altadena, north of the city, where flames tore through suburban streets.- Lost everything -Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said five people were known to have perished, with more deaths feared.Among those who died was 66-year-old Victor Shaw, whose sister told local broadcaster KTLA he had ignored pleas to leave as the fire swept through his Altendena area neighborhood because he wanted to stay and protect their home.”When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn’t reply back,” Shari Shaw said.”I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm that I had to save myself.”Shaw’s body was found by a friend some time later on the driveway of his razed home, a garden hose in his hand.William Gonzales got out alive, but his Altadena home was gone.”We have lost practically everything; the flames have consumed all our dreams,” he told AFP.Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft are offering evacuating residents free rides to shelter locations.Pasadena fire chief Chad Augustin said up to 500 buildings had been lost to the flames in that area.He hailed the bravery of first responders. “Our death count today would be significantly higher without their heroic actions,” Augustin told reporters.US President Joe Biden cancelled a trip to Italy this week to focus on the federal response to the fires. “We’re doing anything and everything, and as long as it takes to contain these fires,” Biden earlier told reporters.His incoming successor Donald Trump blamed the California governor Gavin Newsom for the devastation, calling on him to resign. “This is all his fault,” Trump said on his Truth social platform. – Climate crisis -Having destroyed perhaps hundreds of multimillion-dollar homes, the Pacific Palisades fire looked set to be one of the costliest blazes on record.AccuWeather said it estimated up to $57 billion of losses.Wildfires are part of life in the US West and play a vital role in nature.But scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns.Southern California had two decades of drought that were followed by two exceptionally wet years, which sparked furious vegetative growth — leaving the region packed with fuel and primed to burn — and then has had no significant rain for eight months.

A top Waymo executive said Wednesday the United States could lead globally on autonomous driving, expressing hope that a national standard under the incoming Trump administration would boost safety.Tekedra Mawakana, co-chief executive of the Google-owned robotaxi venture, said the “race” around autonomous driving had “matured” compared with Donald Trump’s first presidential administration, alluding to a global competition in which the US company is competing with Chinese and German auto players.”This is a real opportunity for US leadership and so enabling safe sustainable transportation that is autonomous is very aligned with what I think this administration will want to do,” Mawakana said during a fireside chat interview at the Consumer Electronics Show. Tech experts expect the Trump administration to set a national standard on autonomous driving standards after Trump donor and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk embraced the move.Musk, who is expected to play an influential role in the Trump White House, has expressed frustration with the gap between Texas and California when it comes to rules on autonomous vehicles.Musk plans to launch a robotaxi venture that would compete directly with Waymo. He is targeting the venture to begin by 2027.Mawakana declined to comment directly on whether she trusted Musk to treat competitors fairly in his dealings with Trump. But she welcomed competition, saying “making the road safer is an important mission, and it’s too big for one company.”Although autonomous driving is still a long way from mainstream use, Waymo made strides in 2024. The company operates commercially in three US cities and plans two more US city launches in 2025. It currently provides more than 150,000 trips weekly. Mawakana cautioned of the risk with a national standard of “a race to the bottom on safety,” but said Trump’s team had been “very forward-leaning” on autonomous driving.”As far as a national framework, that’ll be great. It’s just that that framework should require people to demonstrate their safety record,” she said.

A-list actors, musicians and other celebrities were among the tens of thousands of people affected by deadly wildfires in Los Angeles Wednesday, as the entertainment industry screeched to a halt.The showbiz capital has been besieged by multiple out-of-control blazes, with Hollywood events including a glitzy awards show and a Pamela Anderson film premiere among those cancelled as firefighters battle flames in hurricane-force winds.Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the swanky Pacific Palisades area, a favorite spot for celebrities where multimillion-dollar houses nestle on beautiful hillsides, while other infernos sprang up across the north of the city.Mandy Moore, the singer and “This Is Us” actress, told followers on Instagram she had fled with her children and pets from the path of a blaze that had left her Altadena neighborhood “leveled.” “My sweet home. I am devastated and gutted for those of us who’ve lost so much. I’m absolutely numb,” she wrote, in a caption to footage of the destruction.Emmy-winning actor James Woods posted a video on X showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his Pacific Palisades home as he got ready to evacuate, and shortly afterwards said all the fire alarms were going off.”I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one,” Woods said.”Star Wars” star Mark Hamill told followers on Instagram that he had fled his Malibu home with his wife and pet dog, escaping down a road flanked by active fires.Fellow Emmy-winning actor Billy Crystal said the Pacific Palisades house he and his wife lived in for 46 years burned down on Wednesday.”Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” he said in a statement to People magazine. “Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love,” he said.Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis was also forced to evacuate, later writing on Instagram: “Our beloved neighborhood is gone. Our home is safe. So many others have lost everything.”Meanwhile, next week’s unveiling of the Oscar nominations was pushed back until January 19, to give Academy members affected by fires more time to cast their ballots this week. – Premieres cancelled -Several other major Hollywood events have been called off or postponed due to the disaster.The annual Critics Choice Awards gala, which honors the year’s best in film and television and is attended by dozens of A-listers, was delayed from Sunday to January 26.Anderson’s premiere for “The Last Showgirl” was scrapped.Paramount cancelled a glitzy red-carpet screening of the Robbie Williams musical film “Better Man,” and Netflix pulled the plug on a press conference for its Golden Globe winner “Emilia Perez.”Filming of Los Angeles-based shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Hacks” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was paused. And the Universal Studios theme park was closed for the day due to the extreme winds and fire conditions.- ‘Burn’ -Steve Guttenberg — star of 1984 comedy “Police Academy” — was among those helping get people out of Pacific Palisades as the fire began spreading on Tuesday.The “Cocoon” actor expressed frustration at how some of those fleeing the blaze had abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the ritzy neighborhood.”If you leave your car… leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up there,” he told a live television broadcast.Reality TV personalities Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt from “The Hills,” an MTV show that ran until 2010, said they lost their house after evacuating.”I’m watching our house burn down on the security cameras,” Pratt wrote on Snapchat.