Ross King talks LA wildfires

Today on Good Morning Britain the ITV showbiz correspondent had a serious report from America…

GMB hosts Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh joined ITV Daytime’s LA Correspondent Ross King live from Los Angeles as he is forced to evacuate from his home, as wildfires continue to rip through the community.

Responding to Ed asking how he feels seeing all the pictures of devastation so near to where he lives, Ross said: “The pictures are difficult to watch and like you say, when you’re right here in the middle of it, it’s the most destructive fire in LA history. At the moment there are about 10 fires going on and the one that is very close to me is the Runyon Canyon which is referred to as the ‘sunset fire’ which is just a couple of miles away.

“We are under evacuation orders at the moment, it’s not mandatory but I tell you, it’s such a weird feeling when you are packing up the car and you’re getting everything ready, going round the house, taking photographs and you’re thinking this may be the last time you actually see the house. Your heart breaks…

“I’ve got friends, one in Malibu has lost her house at the beach and three other people have completely lost their homes in the Palisades. When you get that feeling, it is the weirdest and one of the scariest things that I’ve gone through. I’ve never known anything like it in my 25 years here in Los Angeles… It’s so scary!”

Earlier on in the show, Good Morning Britain’s America correspondent Noel Phillips was also live from the Palisades in Los Angeles where he shows the sheer devastation of the fire as he stands in front of what was the local church in the area, but is now in ruins.

Speaking to actor Chris Browning, just hours after he was forced to flee his neighbourhood, he said: “It’s paradise up there, with a chance of burning alive… It’s so close to home. I’m seeing people that I know that their lives are just gone. I saw Kate Beckinsale’s Instagram and she put up all this footage… She is a Palisades girl and her whole thing is gone.”

Chris Browning, just hours after he was forced to flee his neighbourhood, told GMB: “I’m seeing people that I know that their lives are just gone.”

Explaining how he is taking the requests to evacuate seriously, Ross King added:

“It is very much ‘Ready, set, go!’ is the instructions that they give you. We’ve had cases packed for a day or so but a couple of hours ago it really was a case of get absolutely everything, get it in the car and make sure the car is facing the right way, be ready for roadblocks, be ready for carnage on the road. You have to take it seriously.”

Responding to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s comments where he has said that the governor of California has ‘not done a good job’ in ensuring the wildfire could be dealt with, Ross said: “It really doesn’t seem the time to play the political cards but certainly there will be major, major questions asked when hopefully we get through this.”

Speaking to Lorraine Kelly later on Lorraine, Ross noted:

“It is apocalyptic, that’s the only way to describe it. People are not over exaggerating it at all. It’s such a weird feeling Lorraine and I feel so sorry for people who have lost their homes. I’ve got at least half a dozen friends now that have lost everything in their homes. Thankfully, they haven’t lost their lives but they’ve lost everything that was in their home.

“When I was getting everything together here in the house, you put everything together and then you start thinking ‘What shall I take? What shouldn’t I take? Is this the last time I’m going to see everything?’… The phone might go and I might have to run out the door, it’s that crazy.”

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