Jonas Curling, 58, lives with his partner in an apartment in West Hollywood in Los Angeles, and saw from the apartment window how the ongoing forest fires in the city reached the outdoor recreation park about a kilometer away and devoured it in a sea of fire and smoke.
Last night at six o'clock (at 3 am on Thursday, Swedish time) we looked out the window and saw a huge forest fire coming over Hollywood Hills towards us, he says.
What did you think when the fire approached?
At first, we were completely paralyzed and just stood there looking. Then we followed how the fire spread and came very close, and how the evacuation order was put in place. We started packing pretty early, I think 90 percent of my friends who live in the area have left, says Jonas Curling.
200 meters from the apartment
He and his partner were awake until late at night, local time, and went to bed only when the rescue service had brought the fire under control.
We made the decision to stay in the apartment. The mandatory evacuation order applied up to 200 meters from our apartment and the voluntary one up to 100 meters, he says.
Many of our friends said that if it spreads during the night, they will burn inside, and that they will leave. We didn't feel that we were reckless, we followed the development closely, but I understand that many are taking the safe option.
"There is a lot of smoke from the fire"
When TT reaches him by phone on Thursday morning, local time, he describes how the smoke from the fire lies heavy over the area.
There is a lot of smoke from the fire, but it's a sunny morning. On the other hand, you can see how Runyon Canyon has burned down. It's a fantastic area that has been lost, says Jonas Curling, who previously spoke to Upsala Nya Tidning about the event.
He wants to express his gratitude to the fire department that is fighting tirelessly to limit the fires.
It's nice to see how a city rallies and doesn't give up.
