Ross King describes 'apocalyptic' scenes around Los Angeles home amid wildfires

Entertainment reporter Ross King has spoken about the “apocalyptic” scenes surrounding his home in Los Angeles as wildfires continue.

At 8.30 PST on Thursday, King told STV News of the “scenes of devastation” as the fire continued to devastate the area.

“Everyone’s still absolutely terrified, the most destructive fire in LA’s history; I’m very lucky that I’m back in the house; it looked like we were going to have to evacuate at one point,” he said.

King described the scenes in LA, saying: “You go outside, the smell of smoke is absolutely everywhere; there’s an eerie silence in many places.

“We’re way over 150,000 people evacuated, four million people without electricity; it is most unbelievable.”

At least five people have died, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes as a new wildfire sweeps through the famed Hollywood Hills, adding to five others already raging in Los Angeles.

Fanned by strong winds, wildfires have swept through Los Angeles since Tuesday, turning its star-studded streets into a “hellscape” and forcing more than 130,000 people to evacuate their neighbourhoods.

The fires started in the city’s Pacific Palisades area before other blazes started to pop up in surrounding areas. Due to the winds, more than 1,400 firefighters struggled to make any significant progress in quelling the blazes.

The blaze began shortly after the start of a Santa Ana windstorm that the National Weather Service warned could be “life-threatening” and the strongest to hit Southern California in more than a decade.

The reporter added that he may have to leave his home at a moment’s notice due to the unpredictable winds, saying it’s “very much ready, set, go here”.

“The risk is very much here. The Santa Ana winds are just so unpredictable at the moment, they’re swirling around, it just takes one tiny ember, which can travel many miles, just to set off another fire,” he said.

“Everyone’s still very much on edge.”

King added that five of his friends have “completely lost everything” to the blaze: “Thankfully, they haven’t lost their lives, and that, of course, is the most important thing.”