Belfast natives caught up in the devastating wildfires which have engulfed California in recent days have spoken of the widespread panic that has hit the area.
Five people are confirmed to have died and more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes across Los Angeles as uncontained wildfires have hit the city and neighbouring counties.
Some of the Irish diaspora who now live in the area have described the fear and panic which has set in as thousands of homes and livelihoods have been destroyed.
South Belfast man Mark McCourt moved to Culver City, 10 minutes outside Santa Monica in west LA, seven years ago and is a committee member at LA Cougars GAA.
He says many of the club’s members are based in Santa Monica and have had to be evacuated from the area, while his wife’s family have also been evacuated and are fearful of losing their home.
“Quite a few of our members have had to evacuate, we just got word that one of our hurlers has lost his home and his business,” Mark told The Irish News.
“One of our lads works for the Irish consulate so he was updating the group last night with evacuation procedures and as always the GAA community came together and lads quickly offered up any spare rooms and sofa beds for anyone needing to evacuate.
“We ended up with nine people, two dogs and six cats in our little two bedroom apartment last night.
“My sister-in-law in Pasadena had to evacuate at 4am as the fire had gotten within one block, there were literally horses running wild down her street as they had been let loose from a lot of the ranches nearby.
“We’re used to bush fires here, but the winds are so severe that this has spread into large residential areas which has obviously made these fires particularly scary for people.”
Famous tourist hotspots such as the Hollywood hills and Sunset Boulevard were engulfed in flames on Thursday as fire, with local residents describing seeing banks, cafes and supermarkets they’ve frequented for decades completely destroyed.
Lisa McShane moved from Belfast to California 37 years ago and works for current baseball world series champions the LA Dodgers.
She described the displacement of thousands across the city as “heartbreaking”.
“At midday yesterday it was reported 200 acres had been burnt. I had an appointment at 3pm and by then it had jumped to 700 acres,” Lisa said.
“Never in my 37 years of being here has a fire spread that rapidly.
“When I saw how many folks have been displaced it was heartbreaking.
“I was raised in Belfast during the worst of the Troubles and I never thought anything could topple that, but some of the fear and panic that we are seeing here is hard to put into words.”
