Malibu is in flames as two wildfires spread through southern California - here's what it looks like on the ground

Hilary Brueck

Nov 10, 2018, 05:44 IST

Malibu is in flames as two wildfires spread through southern California - here's what it looks like on the ground

AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Strong winds blow smoke horizontally over the the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean over the city of Malibu, seen from the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Friday morning, November 9, 2018.

Flames are racing along the southern California coastline as firefighters work to contain the fast-moving Woolsey Fire. The blaze has already scorched 14,000 acres on the outskirts of Los Angeles, and the nearby Hill Fire has charred 6,100 acres in Ventura County.

They're just two of thousands of California wildfires recorded this year. Meanwhile, to the north, the Camp Fire has killed five people and leveled the entire town of Paradise.

Both of the LA-area fires started Thursday afternoon, and though no deaths have been reported, many people have had to leave behind their beloved pets and homes and flee.

Here's a glimpse at the devastation in southern California so far.

The beach city of Malibu is home to about 13,000 people. On Friday, as flames from the Woolsey Fire raced towards the coast, the entire town was forced to evacuate.

Shortly after noon on Friday, the City of Malibu said on its website that the "fire is now burning out of control and heading into populated areas of Malibu. All residents must evacuate immediately."

Stars including Alyssa Milano, Melissa Etheridge, director Guillermo del Toro, and the Kardashian sisters all had to leave their homes in the area.

More than 20,000 structures have burned in the Woolsey Fire, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. Nearly 78,000 people have evacuated.

As of 1 p.m. on Friday, the Woolsey Fire was 0% contained.

Firefighters went door to door urging people in the Malibu area to evacuate via the Pacific Coast Highway, which was turned into a 4-lane one-way road to safety.

Nearby, in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area, the National Park Service said that "Western Town," a movie set used in the popular show Westworld, had burned to the ground.

On its website, LA County says there's no such thing as a wildfire season anymore — "fire season is now year-round."

To the north, meanwhile, residents of Paradise, California ran for their lives on foot and packed into cars to escape the Camp Fire. Five people burned to death in their cars.

These fires are part of a trend: Wildfires are getting bigger and stronger as the planet heats up. The worst blaze in California history happened earlier this year, when the Mendocino Complex fire burned down more than 410,000 acres.

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