Traffic gridlock amid 'unprecedented' wildfires hampers evacuations in Los Angeles
As tens of thousands of people fled their homes to escape massive, wind-whipped blazes in Southern California, traffic gridlock ensued, hampering evacuations and emergency-response efforts.
Known for notorious traffic, several thoroughfares in Los Angeles slowed to a standstill as large plumes of smoke from the roaring blazes billowed into the sky. In Pacific Palisades, an affluent area where narrow, hilly streets spill out onto only a few main roads, people had to abandon their vehicles as Santa Ana winds fueled the explosive growth of several major fires across the region.
Officials say it's an "unprecedented" emergency that has strained local firefighting resources to their limits. Two people have been killed and many who did not evacuate suffered "significant" injuries, officials said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department resorted to moving scores of abandoned vehicles on Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard with a bulldozer so they could clear a path for emergency responders. Videos showed vehicles, including several luxury cars, packed together as a dozer pushed them onto the shoulder of the road.
Pacific Palisades resident Cindy Festa told Reuters that when she evacuated out of the canyon, fires were "this close to the cars," demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.
"People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside. The palm trees - everything is going," Festa said.
Adam Handler and his wife were among those stuck in traffic when a police officer gave them a chilling warning: "Get out of your car if you want to live," Handler recalled in an interview with NBC4 News.
Helping fire authorities move the vehicles off the roads was Actor Steve Guttenberg, known for his roles in "Police Academy" and "Cocoon."
"It's like a parking lot," he told "Good Morning America." "When people abandon their cars, you've got to leave your keys in there, so guys like me can move them."
At a news conference on Wednesday, Los Angeles Chief of Police Jim McDonnell told reporters that while Los Angeles is well versed in traffic – and widely known for it – the snarling of evacuation routes has proved to be "an extra test."
He urged people to stay off the roads so emergency vehicles can easily make their way into the affected areas.
"If you have an ability to be able to stay out of the Westside today ... take advantage of that," he said. "If you can stay home and work from there, I would recommend that."
Contributing: Reuters