hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. it is safe to say that the palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of los angeles. disasters in the history of los an . eles. , , disasters in the history of los anaeles. , , , angeles. their embers flying one half to — angeles. their embers flying one half to two _ angeles. their embers flying one half to two miles - angeles. their embers flying one half to two miles ahead | angeles. their embers flying i one half to two miles ahead of the fire — one half to two miles ahead of the fire with a 75% chance that it will— the fire with a 75% chance that it will ignite a new fire and so, — it will ignite a new fire and so, we _ it will ignite a new fire and so, we are caught in a very difficult _ so, we are caught in a very difficult situation. 30 so, we are caught in a very difficult situation.- difficult situation. so many memories _ difficult situation. so many memories that _ difficult situation. so many memories that cannot - difficult situation. so many memories that cannot be l memories that cannot be replaced, _ memories that cannot be replaced, so_ memories that cannot be replaced, so many- memories that cannot bei replaced, so many things memories that cannot be . replaced, so many things it memories that cannot be - replaced, so many things it is lost _ replaced, so many things it is lost forever. _ replaced, so many things it is lost forever. i— replaced, so many things it is lost forever. i know— replaced, so many things it is lost forever. i know we - replaced, so many things it is lost forever. i know we are i lost forever. i know we are safe — lost forever. i know we are safe but_ lost forever. i know we are safe but i— lost forever. i know we are safe but i don't— lost forever. i know we are i safe but i don't understand... apocalyptic scenes in california. one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of la county

with fires still burning tonight uncontained. we will hear from our reporters on the ground and speak to altadena resident and author peachy keenan, who was among those evacuated also tonight elon musk tells german voters to choose the hard right afd. trump's right hand man has been interviewing the afd's co leader alice weidel who told him germany's leaders are either stupid or they hate their country. and what does 2025 have in store, when it comes to articial intelligence. ai decoded coming up. good evening, the strong winds that have spread the catastophic wildfires across southern california are not going away yet. there are five major blazes now burning along the coast. extending the red flag warning. the palisades fire, which is now the most destructive in la history, has consumed more than

17,000 acres, that's roughly 27 square miles. it has destroyed at least 1,000 structures, and is entirely uncontained. the new blaze, is the sunset fire, which started last night in the hollywood hills and is now threatening the iconic landmarks around sunset boulevard. the size and strength of these fires matched only by the speed at which they spread. the winds had been gusting up to 100 mph, and although those wind speeds have dropped, the tinder dry conditions have exacerbated the fires, forcing over 180,000 evacuations, with more still expected. firefighters are spread thinly along the line, working long shifts under extreme conditions and in some places water hydrants have run dry. 0ne positive development

in the last 12 hours is that fire department helicopters have been able to resume air operations, they were grounded yesterday because of the extreme weather conditions. 0ur west coast correspondent emma vardy reports from los angeles: the scale of this disaster is clear to see. block after block, a blanket of destruction. more than 1,000 buildings burned in this community alone. emergency services unable to save them. and still, they burn — the most catastrophic fires los angeles has ever seen. 0vernight, the hollywood hills resembling a disaster movie. a huge crescent of flame flowing engulfing an iconic community of california.

more 130,000 people have been told to evacuate their homes. here, just one of many properties engulfed — turned to a shell. a lot of the stories of heroic actions by our deputy sheriffs, police officers, fire officers — a lot of them are taking place from people who did not choose to evacuate, putting their own lives at risk. so please, if you're asked to evacuate, evacuate, because it's not only your life you're putting in danger. at least five major fires have been burning across los angeles county. the scale and spread has stretched firefighting crews, on the ground and in the air. 16,000 acres and counting, consumed by the inferno. 0ne street filmed confirmed by a local resident, moments before he left.

i thought i would be able to get some extra stuff that we didn't take — and come to see that the whole street is just gone. it's like a war zone. i mean, we had so many memories were that cannot be replaced. i had these great old pictures of my grandfather from world war ii — both grandfathers — and i was going to get them framed. and now, they're gone, they're lost. so many things are just lost forever. i know we're safe, but... i don't understand. copy that. fuelled by hurricane—force winds, these fires have struck at a vulnerable time. la hasn't seen any significant length for months. currently, we're at the palisades fire, which is a very dynamic, fast—moving brushfire. i'm looking out the window here and wind gusts

are still 50—70 mph, headed right to the ocean, and turning back round and heading up the canyon. there's embers flying 1.5—2 miles ahead of the fire, with a 75% chance that would ignite a new fire. so they were caught in a very difficult situation. as dawn came in the palisades, it revealed the grim reality of what the fire has left behind. there are miles and miles of streets like this, in utter shock at the devastation here. communitiesjust vanished, now ghost towns, and once dream homes turned to dust. no—one is immune. mansions now ash. the homes ofjennifer aniston, rihanna, adam sandler, and paris hilton among those evacuated. the scale of disruption has upended life in los angeles — and this ravaged city is braced for more. we can cross live to

los angeles and my colleague helena humphrey who's in altadena: i was listening to a local reporter saying that before these drought —like conditions arrived, there were two years of record rainfall over a two—year period and a crew the vegetation in the forest and then came the drought and that created this tender like condition that is adding fuel to the fire.— to the fire. that is exactly ri . ht in to the fire. that is exactly right in can _ to the fire. that is exactly right in can see _ to the fire. that is exactly right in can see the - to the fire. that is exactly | right in can see the tender conditions now and when you speak to people in southern california —— tinder, they are used to wildfires, seasonal wildfires but this eight months of very little rainfall that we saw a really exacerbated those conditions you could see some of those trees that are downed as well because those hurricane winds came through here of a mph and itjust want chaise in the devastations in this zone

and we will see some of what is been left in just countless vehicles like this one completely charred and burned out as people piled in the neighbours cars and rush to get away and acres completely burned out in scenes like this just replicated and houses just reduced to rubble and you can see here in the background, smoulder, even some flames continuing to look at the structure here with these hotspots was zero contagion in these fires, we know there were five fatalities over in this direction and this is when they become striking because there are scenes that are familiar to all of us, patio furniture and people having their breakfast out there in this direction, the trappings of our everyday domestic lives, washer dryers, completely burned out and if you cross over the street here,

we have to be cautious because you can see power lines still down 1.5 million people without power right now and we just found the so striking because here, as we crossed the road, you can see this telegraph pole, this power line in the top is thinking quite literally by a thread but if you look underneath, you can see it's completely burned out and hanging by a thread and i want to show you this sky and the way we are wearing masks is because there is this choking smoke right now and it's really acrid and you can see it's like acrid and you can see it's like a sunset but it's not, it's the middle of the day and that is because the haze and as we crossed the road and ijust want to show you people are still starting to come back in their tearful and emotional and they're finding that they have nothing left and if you look at this house, speaking to the residence there, their grandmother did manage to get out alive but they came back to try to look for an urn of their

grandfathers ashes we can see that chimney is, they could not find it in the can simply find this little elephant ornamented and that is all that is left by thing that is the contrast of los angeles as well because you have a list of celebrities in the pacific palisades that are speaking out in trying to draw attention to the plight of people here and you've just got regular family people here and you've just got regularfamily homes people here and you've just got regular family homes here and we are near an elderly care home that was evacuated in the same family said that they've got to go home and put on their uniforms and go to work in one of them work in a fast food restaurant and the middle of this destruction, just trying to get on with their daily lives as well. i think that level of destruction is so difficult to comprehend. just lookinu difficult to comprehend. just looking around _ difficult to comprehend. just looking around you, even if you were extraordinarily lucky and your house was spared in this comet is the bones of the

community that is disappeared, the power of infrastructure in the power of infrastructure in the sewage system, the banks, the sewage system, the banks, the groceries the hardware stores, the schools. is there any question among people he spoke to that may be it cannot be rebuilt and there have been three wildfires in california in three months, zero? as to whether this is one area of the world affected by climate change where people might have to move? i change where people might have to move? ~ . to move? i think there will be those questions _ to move? i think there will be those questions and - to move? i think there will be those questions and i - to move? i think there will be those questions and i think. those questions and i think right now, there isjust disbelief at what people are facing right now but in terms of the scale of that challenge in rebuilding these areas, yes you are biden coming out saying that california will have everything it needs to rebuild but this is unprecedented in la's history and you can compare to other things we've seen like the maui wildfires in

hawaii those over a year ago and still very much in difficulty and also when it comes to the economy and so on and i think yes, those questions will be asked by the likes of the governor and the state of california in gavin, this really was what authorities have called the perfect storm when it comes to these climactic conditions when it comes to those hurricanes and also the typography of this area and the hollywood hills, you have these canyons and then you have these canyons and then you have these canyons and then you have chimney —like conditions and that is why you see some random destruction in certain places whether fires jump certain places whether fires jump from house to house at random and i think the warning is that these winds could whip up is that these winds could whip up again in the coming days and people arejust anxious people are just anxious about what could lie ahead. we can speak to author

peachy keenan who s had to evacuate her home in altadena, northeast of la, with herfive children and pets: it is an awful scene to see on our screens and did you get to take anything with you, do you know what the situation is at home? . �* know what the situation is at home? , �* home? yes, i'm actually here in my house _ home? yes, i'm actually here in my house and — home? yes, i'm actually here in my house and we _ home? yes, i'm actually here in my house and we were - home? yes, i'm actually here in my house and we were gone - home? yes, i'm actually here in my house and we were gone for| my house and we were gone for two nights they took the kids back here today because we heard that our street was fine and part of my roof came off some of the tiles came off but our house is intact and think it my neighbours are safe and wear reporter was, they were not so lucky and i'm been getting reports all day that at least 12 families they go to our school, they lost their homes and lost everything and i'm getting it both ways because i grew up in the palisades about an hour west of here by the beach and my entire hometown has been destroyed including my childhood home and

many friends and people in the palisades are gone and i live in altadena and this whole neighbourhood is basically decimated, the main business thoroughfare is gone, my grocery stores don, my son's place of work the local hardware store that you guys mentioned is gone is a family run businesses and altadena is not palisades, this is middle class families and some of them have been there for 50 years in these are all beautiful homes and my husband snuck to the barricade and the police of plucked everything off because of the looters in his taking pictures of our favourite houses the houses that we wish we lived in, these beautiful old homes are all gone and it's beyond belief.— beyond belief. that question i 'ust ut beyond belief. that question i just put two — beyond belief. that question i just put two helena _ beyond belief. that question i just put two helena about - beyond belief. that question i just put two helena about the| just put two helena about the future and the way people rebuild their lives, i think they said today that's around $50 billion worth of damage. do

you think that part of southern california, the valleys area, beautiful area around la, do you think you can never be fully protected from this? i fully protected from this? i mean, there's always been wildfires and bonfires are here before human beings and natural disasters strike in every country has their issues and people will want to rebuild and people will want to rebuild and some won't but roots go very deep and this is like our homeland and unfortunately what you're seeing here, maybe it's partially climate change plus the effect of one—party rule and they have mismanaged fire management and water management literally for decades and my friends are trying to protect their own homes and there was no water in the pipes in altadena and in the palisades unfortunately that, i think it squarely on the shoulders of the local government. people will 1527 00:15:55,694