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Malibu – Huge fires in the north and south of the US state of California have destroyed hundreds of square kilometers of forest and thousands of homes. According to the California Firefighters Association (CPF), about 250,000 people have had to flee.
Even the ex-German model Uschi Obermaier has flown away from the flames. "Today, I'm really scared, because the fires are already close and the Santa Ana winds are blowing at 60 km / h," said the Munich native in a telephone interview with L & # 39; 39 German news agency in the hills of Topanga Canyon, east of Malibu, but the whole area was evacuated, the old model accompanied by his dog with a friend found in a shelter at a distance of security.
The 72-year-old woman worries about her house on the edge of the Santa Monica Mountains. Obermaier, one of the most famous faces of the 1968 German movement, lived there in the middle of nature for 15 years, but also in the midst of a dangerous windstorm. "A fire has often been affected by a state of drought." But the fires clearly got worse.
The fight against fires could take weeks.
– AFP
The worst fears came true
After a trip, she returned home on Friday. Thick clouds of smoke escaped behind the canyon. Obermaier said Sunday (local time): "The traffic lights were no longer working, no electricity in the house, no phone." With her dog and clothes, she turned immediately, as she recounts, like many others, that the California election worries for her home.
For some, the worst fears have already materialized: they are dramatic images showing the sea of flames and the extent of destruction in many areas. This is particularly tragic for the small town of Paradise north of the state. According to the police, 29 people were killed. In Malibu, southern California, two people were burned in a car on Friday.
– imago stock & people
In paradise, where the so-called campfire has destroyed more than 6,000 houses since Thursday, many people are still missing. The authorities spoke of 228 people. Presumably, there are also people on the list of missing persons who could already be safe. The chaotic conditions with closed roads and the lack of a telephone network made it difficult to find loved ones. According to the emergency services, the "camp" fire was under control only about 25%.
Gottschalk lost his house
Around Malibu, the fire was called "Woolsey" and pushed many celebrities to flee. Thomas Gottschalk (68) and his wife Thea are also affected. His home is destroyed, said Sunday the artist on his request. can not say anything because the words I miss, "said Monday the newspaper Gottschalk Bild." I had the poem "The Panther & # 39; in the writing of Rainer Maria Rilke hanging on the wall. It caught fire, along with the staircase through which my children always raged. "
Her neighbor, the American singer Miley Cyrus (25), is also affected. "My house is gone, but the memories I shared with my family and friends are still there," she wrote on Twitter. Successful author Cornelia Funke left her farm in Malibu for the devastating fires, she wrote on her home page and her colleagues took care of the house and the barn.
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Gerard Butler: "heartbreaking time"
Hollywood star Gerard Butler (48, "300") announced his loss with a picture of himself burning in the ruins and a broken car. "A heartbreaking time in all of California," he wrote, thanking firefighters for their tireless efforts.
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The director of "Doctor Strange", Scott Derrickson, wrote on Twitter Friday, "but we escaped from his" family "from hell." On Sunday, he published a photo of some objects that he kept in the ashes. "Fully intact" found, including a plant bowl, a plastic toy and a glbad of soot.
His two sons have a harder time losing their property, Derrickson wrote to the short message service. German director Wim Wenders, a friend of the family, told his 15-year-old son Comfort: "Keep your memories, no one can burn that."
Difficult to imagine the extent of the destruction
Singer Robin Thicke and Canadian rocker Neil Young have also written in social media about the loss of their home. Others, on the other hand, were relieved to learn that the flames had been spared. Television personality Caitlyn Jenner said in a video on Instagram Sunday that the surrounding hills are all blackened, but her home in Malibu is still in full destruction.
Still in Malibu, one of the most serious fires for decades is raging.
– imago stock & people
Singer Barbra Streisand, long-time owner of the celebrity site, thanked all Sunday's firefighters who "risked their lives in times like these". Whether her villa is still standing or not, she has not written.
It's hard to imagine the extent and strength of the fire, Obermaier says. The flames had devoured the sea and glowing ash had flown along the coastal road. The threat of fire now stops all year. "In the past, there was a fire season that lasted from September to December, and now we have fires all the time," Obermaier complains, adding that climate change accompanied by a lingering drought exacerbated the situation.
She had loved California for a long time, but for many reasons – "not just because of the fire and Donald Trump" – she wanted to get away, she was looking for a house on the coast of the United States. Algarve in Portugal, says Malibu, 72 years old. Obermaier thinks that even the last catastrophe caused by a fire will survive. "People are rebuilding their homes."
That was always the case, at least in the past. Also in 1993, after one of the worst fires in Malibu when three people were killed. Nearly 300 houses were burned at this time, including the residences of actors Sean Penn and Ali McGraw.
Surfers' paradise always attracts celebrities: singer and actress Lady Gaga, director and winner of an Oscar Guillermo del Toro, reality TV Kim Kardashian, Tom Hanks, Martin Sheen and Orlando Bloom are just a few. some of the famous names. "It's also a beautiful place," says Obermaier, "and there's more security."
In case of prolonged drought, heat and high winds, a quick release of the situation is not in sight, warned the fire department Sunday. But there was also a positive point. Thanks to a firefighting record, one of the three main fires – the "Hill" fire – could be controlled to 70%.
The governor draws a dark picture
California governor Jerry Brown painted a dark picture for his drought. Brown takes the position of many researchers who attribute climate change, with rising temperatures, to severe droughts, more severe forest fires and other climatic extremes. "This is not the new normal, it's the new anomaly," said the Democrat.
Firefighters are also trying to control the fires.
– imago stock & people
Brown called for swift federal badistance to the victims of the Washington fire disaster. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the West Coast Liberal State often clash. So Trump accused the authorities of mismanagement in the face of recent fires and threatened to withdraw federal funds. "There is no reason for these mbadive, deadly and expensive fires in California, if it is bad forest management," Trump wrote on Twitter, adding that "mismanagement" was "a immediate relief "or" no other payment from the alliance ".
Governor Brown vehemently rejected this presentation. California firefighters were also angry at Trump on Monday: the president's statement was "misinformed, badly done and humiliating for those who are suffering and for men and women on the frontline," said the PCF on Monday. forest areas, but also nearly 60% of California's forests and about a third in private hands. "Not California, but the federal government itself has decided not to control the resources of forest management."
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