A scene of razed buildings along a coastline A view of destroyed homes along the Pacific Ocean due to wildfires which have caused extensive damage and loss n Malibu, California. Multiple wildfires fuelled by intense Santa Ana Winds are burning across Los Angeles. Picture: AFP
Durban: South Africans living in Los Angeles, in the US have described the devastation that has occurred due to the raging wildfires that began last week.
The Palisades Fire was 11% contained by Saturday but had grown to 9 500 hectares, while the Eaton Fire was at 5600 acres and 15% contained.
Official figures show more than 12 000 structures burned, but Cal Fire's Todd Hopkins said not all were homes, and the number would also include outbuildings, recreational vehicles and sheds.
South African actor and producer Stelio Savante, who lives in Los Angeles, shared accounts of the ongoing situation on a Facebook post.
“The current situation is extremely bad—chaotic, dangerous, desperate, and unpredictable. Our friends in certain fire departments believe some of it is arson, and numerous arrests of suspected arsonists caught on film support that,” he said.
Savante expressed his gratitude for prayers and the heroic efforts of firefighters. “We are so thankful to the first responders who are like giants taking on Goliath,” he said.
However, he also described fears of looters and homeless individuals attempting to enter homes amid the chaos.
“The high-force winds will not relent. This situation requires spiritual warfare,” he added.
Entrepreneur and model, Sihle Makhanya who resides in LA also shared on her TikTok how devastating the experience is.
"I am traumatised because I saw the fire, when it was just started and I saw it grow bigger. While we were evacuating, I saw people fleeing... others in wheelchairs. It was traumatizing. When I close my eyes I still could see everything," she said in a video.
Responding to a comment that asked her to come back to South Africa she said that planes were currently not flying.
"How do I come back home when even the people with private jets can not leave, the fire is blazing higher to the sky."
She also said that she was currently safe and away from the fire. She commended the firefighters and police.
"I think they are trying to do everything that they can, the police and firefighters, from my perspective because everything just went crazy overnight and no one could have predicted it," she said.
Meanwhile South Africa’s Working on Fire confirmed that currently there has not been any request for them to assist with the fires in LA.
This was after social media posts showed videos of South African firefighters singing and dancing at an airport with a caption stating that the firefighters were on their way to California via Canada.
It has since been established that this was a video from 2023 when the firefighters were deployed to Canada to fight wildfires in that country.
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