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"Hell" in Los Angeles/ Albanian director shows evacuation: Fires spread very quickly

2025-01-09 21:04:10Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA KEIDA KOSTRECI
"Hell" in Los Angeles/ Albanian director shows evacuation: Fires
"Hell" in Los Angeles

Residents of the well-known Hollywood Hills neighborhood in California were evacuated Wednesday evening after a fire spread to the area. One of the evacuees, renowned Kosovo filmmaker Blerim Gjoci, who lives in the neighborhood, described the situation in an interview with Voice of America.

Voice of America: Mr. Gjoci, thank you very much for agreeing to give us your impressions and describe the situation. Where are you now?

Blerim Gjoci: I am now in Hollywood Hills, behind me you can see the Hollywood sign, this is where I live. Last night around seven o'clock in the evening we were ordered to evacuate so we all went out as we did. However, there was no great chaos, there was order even though the traffic was very busy but we got off and became a group of Albanians here on Hollywood Boulevard, we have a cafe where we meet and that's where we gathered. As we were leaving, these hills had turned orange, it was an apocalyptic sight to call it, but we who are from Kosovo had seen more terrible things than this so we did not lose patience, we met and talked about what to do. We decided to stay and wait a bit to see if this too would pass, sometime after midnight the fire died down a bit and we decided to spend the night with friends and now we are back home because the evacuation order has been lifted, while the smoke continues to cover the valley called Beachwood Canyon. The smoke continues to fall on clothes and on bodies, but it still seems like the situation has calmed down a bit because the wind has also stopped a bit.

Voice of America : The views from the entire area are dramatic, yet we know that in California, in that area, there have been other fires before. It is said that these fires are historic, how would you describe how you have experienced these last 24 hours?

Blerim Gjoci: To be honest, this was a little different than other times. We have experienced other fires, but these happened so quickly, so the wind carried the fire so quickly that no one, not even the firefighters and the police who were trying to keep the situation under control, were able to get to all the places where the fire was happening.

For this reason, the evacuation was more chaotic and the news was a little more chaotic because while they were saying that this was a safe area, it happened that after five minutes they said no, you have to evacuate from here too.

The sparks were carried by the wind very quickly and as you know California is very dry so the fires were started immediately and spread very quickly, this made everything unpredictable, even though the authorities tried to keep us informed all the time, this made it difficult because while we were going in one direction, in that direction then it happened that other fires had started and we had to turn in another direction.

Voice of America : So uncertainty and unpredictability were a worrying element for you and other residents, according to what you are describing?

Blerim Gjoci: Of course, the fires spread very quickly and the destruction was very great, as you know, Palisades is almost destroyed, it is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Los Angeles, it is really strange and terrible. Then also the intervention, helicopters were in the air last night dropping water and other means to extinguish the fire, but we were afraid that they would collide in the air because they became too many and then they started removing them one by one because it was also becoming dangerous. Fire, as you know, is very unpredictable and difficult to control.

Voice of America : I understand what is not seen in the footage is what is caused by the smoke, the way you feel or inhale the smoke, how can you describe such a thing?

Blerim Gjoci: As soon as you leave the house, you can smell the smoke, and the air has become very heavy. Now the sun has just come out, until now it was a red sun, since when we were children we used to say that dragons and kuchedras are fighting, that's how it was, the view was truly apocalyptic, but now the sun has climbed higher and the smoke is visible lower. From where I am, I often see the view all the way to Santa Monica, while now I can't see it at all because everything is covered in smoke in that direction, also to my left are Pasadena and Altadena, which have almost completely burned down, behind me is the fire that happened last night, the "sunset fires" they called them here in the Hollywood Hills, this fire is now a little localized but not completely extinguished, but we don't have much smoke from that side. However, we are surrounded by smoke and we have turned on all the filters inside the apartments because the air has become very unbearable.


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