The inferno sweeping Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the US, has leapt onto Hollywood Hills endangering fabled landmarks in the area on Thursday. 

Nearly 1,50,000 people were under evacuation orders on Wednesday night as the fires burnt down 7,000 hectares, killed at least five people and destroyed over 1,000 buildings, including houses of celebrities, places of worship and schools.

The fire on the Hollywood Hill was a kilometre away Wednesday night from the Hollywood Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl amphitheatre.

However, Hollywood Bowl wrote on X on Wednesday evening, “Due to the Sunset Fire, we have received evacuation orders and all Hollywood Bowl staff have safely evacuated the premises,”. “We extend our deepest gratitude to the firefighters who are working tirelessly to protect our community.”

Fact check: Is Hollywood sign really on fire

Amid the terrifying visuals of wildfire doing rounds on social media, photos of the Hollywood sign on fire are fast-spreading on the internet, confusing viewers, sparking a debate on whether or not these photographs are actually credible.

However, the pictures are said to be AI-generated.

As per Los Angeles Fire Department’s latest updates on Hollywood Hills West Brush Fire and Sunset Fire, the wildfire is near Hollywood sign but has not yet reached there.

Here are the screengrabs of nearest fires to Hollywood sign, as per LAFD updates.

Hollywood Hills West Brush Fire  (Image: Google Maps)

Sunset Fire (Image: Google Maps)

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden visited the area, stopping at a fire station in Santa Monica.

He said of the recovery, “It’s going to be a hell of a long way, it's going to take time, but the federal government is here to stay as long as you need it and everything you need”.

The fires were personal for him: He said that his son who moved to the region was ordered to evacuate, but his granddaughter gave birth to a son on Wednesday.

Biden cancelled a trip to Italy because of the fires.

At some places, fire hydrants ran dry, which local officials said was because of the unprecedented demand.

President-elect Donald Trump, though, blamed California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for the water shortage.

In a Truth Social post he said that Newsom had refused to approve a “water restoration declaration” because he wanted to protect an endangered species of fish called smelt, rather than people, preventing South California from getting enough water.

While not denying that the water projects had been stopped, Newsom’s spokesperson said that such a declaration did not exist.

In a vivid illustration of how the fires with massive evacuation orders affect people, local reporters covering the fire rushed to evacuate their families or check in on them between their on-air reports, while the weather reporter brought her family to the studio after they had been ordered to evacuate their homes.

The people ordered to evacuate were sheltering in public buildings away from the fire zones.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)

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