Celebrity podcaster and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman has filmed what he believes to be people lighting fires in downtown Los Angeles, as wildfires continue to ravage the City of Angels.
As of 1 am Thursday morning local time, a total of five fires are burning in Los Angeles. Five people have died, and over 2000 structures have been destroyed. More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes.
Early Thursday morning, Huberman, an LA local, took to X to post a video of an incident at 302 Pico Blvd, in Santa Monica, only meters from where the Palisades fire is burning.
The Palisades fire is out of control in the west of Los Angeles and has burned through nearly 7,000 hectares. It is the largest of the five fires burning in LA.
“People are lighting fires in otherwise non-burning areas of LA,” Huberman wrote on X, alongside a video.
“We don’t need more flames out here.
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
“Some of those guys lit that fire … the tree has caught fire, and the palms are catching fire.”
Huberman said the local fire department had been contacted, but with out-of-control wildfires burning, could only hope they would be able to help.
Many took to the comment section in disbelief, including the owner of the platform, Elon Musk, who commented: “Wow.”
At least five people have been killed and more than 2000 buildings burned in rampaging wildfires that are “sweeping like lightning” around Los Angeles, with firefighters overwhelmed by the speed and ferocity of multiple blazes.
Evacuation orders were in place for about 100,000 people across the area and more than three million people were without power as of Wednesday afternoon.
The iconic Hollywood Boulevard, home to several iconic landmarks including the Walk of Fame and Hollywood Bowl, has also been pushed into a mass evacuation.
Dramatic images are emerging from the heavily-populated city inundated by flames, showing a Bank of America completely engulfed among other prominent buildings.
There have also been two arrests made in response to looting amid the chaos.
Cars are now stacking up in crucial chokepoints across Hollywood, with local news teams filming the chaos.
