米ＬＡ近郊で山火事、強風にあおられ制御不能に

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米カリフォルニア州ロサンゼルス近郊で６日、非常に強い風にあおられる形で、山火事が急速に広がっている。制御不能な火災の中、住民数千人に対して避難命令が出された他、病院に搬送された負傷者も報告されている。（写真は、米カリフォルニア州カマリロで、山火事の消火作業に当たる消防隊員）
　風速３６メートルを超える強風の中、山火事は６日朝、ロサンゼルス北西約６５キロのムアパーク近くで発生。
　火は急速に広がり、ベンチュラ郡消防当局によると、午後には焼損面積は４２００ヘクタールとなった。火の手は、人口約７万人のカマリロ郊外にまで及んだ。地元放送局は、カマリロハイツにある複数の高級住宅が炎に包まれる様子を伝えた。
　被災地の状況が非常に危険なため、消防当局も被害を受けた住宅の正確な数を把握できていない。また、負傷者数についても現時点では確認できていないが、当局は病院に搬送された人がいると述べた。
　ベンチュラ郡消防署長のダスティン・ガードナー氏は、消防隊員が全力で住民の避難に当たっていると説明。火災は制御不能な状態にあるとし「火災の広がりは非常に速い」と述べた。
　ロサンゼルスではこのほか、大西洋沿いのマリブでも火災が起きており、南カリフォルニア有数の高級住宅地に火の手が迫っている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/07-17:00）

A wildfire fanned by powerful winds was burning out of control near Los Angeles on Wednesday, with scores of residents ordered to evacuate and some taken to the hospital.
Multiple large homes were destroyed as the fire tore through neighborhoods, blanketing a huge area in thick, choking smoke.
Fierce gusts up to 80 miles (130 kilometers) an hour were fueling flames that were scorching through farmland.
The fire was reported near Moorpark, 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, around breakfast time on Wednesday.
By mid-afternoon it had exploded to almost 9,000 acres (3,600 hectares) within a few hours, the California state fire department said, and flames had reached a suburb of Camarillo, home to around 70,000 people.
Local broadcasters showed luxury homes in the Camarillo Heights area engulfed in flames, many utterly destroyed.
Further up the hillsides, aerial footage showed people frantically loading horses into trailers at sprawling ranch properties as swirling flames loomed nearby.
It's bad out there, but we're getting them all out, one woman told local broadcaster KTLA as she drove horses out of the area.
(The fire) was surrounding on both sides... It's just all over the place. It's not one clear fire line. It's everywhere.
- 'Particularly dangerous' -
Firefighters had no official figures for the number of properties affected by the blaze, which was also burning through fruit groves and brushland.
The high winds were picking up embers, threatening to spread the flames further afield.
Evacuation orders are in effect, and we urge residents to follow these orders for their safety, said a message on social media from the Ventura County Fire Department.
Several individuals have been injured and transported to local hospitals. Numerous structures are currently threatened.
The high winds were complicating firefighting efforts, making it impossible for airplanes to take to the sky, the fire department said.
Ground crews, helicopters and mutual aid resources are actively working to protect lives and property, the agency said on social media.
Evacuee Gail Liacko said she had to evacuate very suddenly on a normal morning.
All of a sudden there was soot on our patio furniture, coming from the front of the house as well as the back, and the smoke was kind of surrounding our street, she said.
She and her husband quickly began to throw things together.
It was just very surreal. You just don't know what to pack in a moment of absolute panic.
Around 21,000 customers had lost power in the area as electricity companies shut off supplies -- a common strategy in California during high winds in a bid to reduce the risk of new fires from energized power lines.
The National Weather Service warned dangerous winds were set to continue until at least the end of Thursday.
Extreme and life-threatening fire behavior... Particularly dangerous situation, an NWS warning said.
Another blaze had also broken out in Malibu, threatening multi-million dollar homes on some of the most desirable coastline in Southern California.