In Los Angeles, at least 24 people have died and thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes by devastating wildfires.
Others are left on tenterhooks, watching the fires come closer to their homes and waiting for an evacuation order.
One of those anxiously awaiting updates is Irish model and TV host Tiffany Stanley, who is living in the Hollywood Hills area.
“It was about two nights ago that the Sunset fire broke out, which is right where the iconic Runyon Canyon is,” she told Newstalk Breakfast.
“We could literally see the flames from our home and it just went from zero to 100 almost - it went into it like an inferno.
“I couldn't believe my eyes.”
Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on January 12, 2025. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Live NewsMs Stanley said the wildfires spreading to the west Hollywood area was “unprecedented”.
“It's completely new - there's always been wildfires out near Malibu and Palisades and out that way, but never here in the west Hollywood area,” she said.
“It's literally apocalyptic - it almost looks like a scene from a movie.
“There's an air of tragedy and sadness… the energy is so heavy and the air itself, actually, in in LA is almost hard to breathe - it leaves a residue on your skin, on your eyes and your lips.
“Honestly, the last couple of days have just been a nightmare for everyone.”
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Ms Stanley is going to “sit tight for now” as stories of houses being looted while people are evacuating loom.
“Our area has managed to hire some private security for night time just to make sure there's nobody in this area doing things that they shouldn't be,” she said.
“Everyone's just kind of on eggshells - it's hard to sleep at night because we just don't know what's going to happen, and we don't want to leave the house because of the looters and things like that.
“So for now, we're sitting tight and monitoring.”
Ms Stanley said approximately 70% of people living in her area have left.
She also said there is an ever-present fear of arsonists, as a number of attempted-arsonists have allegedly been arrested over the past few days.
Main image: Split image: Tiffany Stanley (R) and LA Wildfires (L)
