The University of California, USA has become a "ghost city" due to the impact of wildfires, and thousands of people have evacuated the campus

The Los Angeles wildfire has been burning continuously for a whole week. As of January 13th local time, the wildfire has caused 24 deaths, damaged 12000 buildings, and evacuated over 90000 people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stated on January 13th that post disaster cleanup efforts may take more than six months.

FEMA Director Deanne Criswell stated in an interview with American media that the department has promised to cover all the costs of clearing the debris within 180 days after the disaster, but he also acknowledged that the cleanup work will take longer.

The process of cleaning up the remnants of wildfires is very complex, including first removing harmful household waste from the ruins, removing building foundations and surface soil to treat infiltrating toxins, etc.

According to the Los Angeles Times, as the disaster continues, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) adjacent to the evacuation area of Pacific Palisades has become a ghost town.

The picture shows the location of the fire on the California government website on January 14, 2025, with the yellow circle indicating the location of the UCLA campus (California government website)

Although the school stated on the 13th that it was not directly threatened, due to poor air quality on campus, this week's classes have been changed to online teaching, and the campus is almost empty, with only about 900 international students, resident student assistants, and others remaining.

Tommy Contreras, a student at the school, said that out of the 120 students in his dormitory building, there are only about 10 left, and he estimated that at least a few thousand people have already left the entire university: "This has become a ghost town

Source: Hong Kong 01