Rupert Murdoch’s mansion among homes threatened by California fires as ‘extreme’ winds fan flames
Authorities issued a purple wind alert late on Wednesday, which has never been used before
California emergency officials warned of unprecedented powerful winds on Thursday that were expected to feed fires raging across Los Angeles, threatening multimillion dollar mansions with blazes that have already forced more than 200,000 people to flee.
Authorities issued a “purple” alert because of the extreme danger, warning that winds could reach 128km/h, severely limiting firefighting efforts. Southern California has felt yellow wind, orange wind, and red wind. But never purple wind.
Red means “high” and purple means “extreme”.
“The forecast for tomorrow is purple,” said Ken Pimlott, director at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “We’ve never used purple before.”
“As expected winds have increased dramatically,” Cal Fire, the agency responsible for fire protection in the state, said on Twitter. “Stay alert and prepared in case of evacuations. If you feel unsafe, evacuate.”
Flames swallowed about 32,000 hectares in the space of a day, after the “Thomas” fire – the state’s largest – broke out, leaving at least one person dead in an area about 45 minutes’ drive from downtown LA. The high winds also caused another wave of wildfires to erupt on Tuesday night, including one in Los Angeles’ affluent Bel-Air neighbourhood.
