As the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires continued to engulf regions around the Southern California city on Wednesday, a new blaze in the Hollywood Hills had taken hold by the evening, threatening lives, property, and historic landmarks.
Residents in the area of Runyon Canyon, a park and popular hiking spot less than a mile from Hollywood Boulevard, were under a mandatory evacuation order as the Sunset Fire raged and firefighters fought to prevent the conflagration from spreading.
The blaze is close to Hollywood Bowl, the iconic outdoor ampitheatre that opened in 1922. Concern was mounting over the safety of attractions on Hollywood Boulevard like Hollywood Walk of Fame, TCL Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, where the 97th Oscars ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 2.
Thick smoke swirled over Hollywood as cars trying to flee the locale were backed up. A mile or so to the south near Los Angeles’ central Fairfax District, anxious residents stood in the streets watching the drama unfold.
Throughout the day Los Angelinos and news coverage has been consumed by the Palisades and Eaton fires that started on Tuesday. The former has ravaged the Pacific Palisades community west of Santa Monica and become the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles with at least 1,000 structures reported lost.
Three other fires were burning north of the Los Angeles conurbation as the Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions fuelled the crisis. The devastating Eaton Fire in Pasadena and Altadena has claimed five lives, forced around 100,000 people to evacuate their homes, and destroyed a further 1,000 structures, according to L.A. County Fire Department. The Hurst and Woodley fires to the north of Los Angeles County also pose risks.
The blazes have impacted Hollywood events. Bafta LA cancelled its annual tea party in Beverly Hills on Saturday (January 11), while the Critics Choice Awards scheduled to take place in Santa Monica on Sunday have been postponed until January 26. The annual AFI Awards lunch in Beverly Hills, set for Friday, was also postponed.
Paramount cancelled Wednesday’s premiere of the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, and on Tuesday Universal and Amazon MGM Studios cancelled premieres of Wolf Man and Unstoppable, respectively.
In terms of physical production, shooting was reportedly suspended on a number of television shows like Hacks and Ted Lasso, although work was said to be continuing on other sound stages across town.
SAG Awards canceled Wednesday’s in-person nominations announcement and unveiled the nominees via a press release “in an abundance of caution for the safety of our presenters, guests, and staff”.
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