The announcement of this year's Oscar nominees has been postponed for two days due to the huge and intense wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area. The event will now take place on January 19 instead of the previously scheduled January 17.
This was reported by the BBC.
The date of the Critics Choice Awards, which was to take place in Santa Monica on January 11, has also been postponed.
The fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills, near Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on the evening of January 8.
According to the Associated Press, rescuers have already evacuated more than 130 thousand people. Five people have already died, and more than 1,500 buildings, mostly residential homes and businesses, have been destroyed. Many people had to flee the fire on foot.
What would your headline be for this video?
Video by @stuartpalley pic.twitter.com/Y65DaCCqwm — Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) January 9, 2025
On the Pacific coast west of downtown Los Angeles, a large fire leveled entire neighborhoods, reducing grocery stores and banks to rubble in Pacific Palisades, a coastal area home to many celebrity homes. Among the stars who reported losing their homes are Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes, Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal.
Plane passengers were shocked by what they saw when they came in to land in Los Angeles, as the wildfires ravaging local neighborhoods could be seen clearly below them glowing in the darkness.
Follow live updates: https://t.co/8gyIg84ckG pic.twitter.com/0bRN19GSXx — ABC News (@ABC) January 9, 2025
More than half a dozen schools in the area were damaged or destroyed, including Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror film "Carrie" and the television series "Wolfwolf."
Several Hollywood studios suspended production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park between Pasadena and Pacific Palisades.
The cause of large-scale fires is climate change
According to the Western Association of Fire Chiefs, California's wildfire season is now starting earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and reduced precipitation associated with climate change. Rains that normally end the fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can continue into the winter months.
Here's someone in California who ignored warnings and didn't evacuate in time. I'm assuming they're ok because they managed to post the video. #Palasadesfire pic.twitter.com/CdPGU9K95l
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) January 8, 2025
Dry winds helped warm Southern California, which hasn't seen more than 2.5 mm of rain since early May.
According to reports from the National Weather Service, winds increased to 129 km/h on Wednesday. Forecasters forecast wind gusts of 56-88 km/h in the future, which may increase in the mountains and foothills. The fire situation may last until Friday.
From space, the fire currently looks like this:
Source: Maxar Technologies.
Source: Maxar Technologies.
We will remind, in August EcoPolitic reported on a large-scale forest fire in Greece, which is lightning spread and threatened the capital We also cited the opinion of experts that the world is not ready to forest fires caused by climate change.
