Fast-moving wildfires are causing chaos in southern California, leading to the evacuation of thousands from the affluent Pacific Palisades area near Los Angeles.
The death toll has risen to at least five, with 30,000 people forced to leave their homes as the fire’s reach continues to grow rapidly.
However, amidst the devastation, some onlookers have reported sightings of what seem to be “drones” or other unidentified flying objects darting above the inferno.
One particular news report about the wildfire gained notoriety after CNN journalist Nick Watt narrowly avoided being struck by a piece of flaming debris, exclaiming “Jesus Christ! ” on live television.
Additional footage of the catastrophe has spread like wildfire online, with social media users claiming to spot “drones” speeding through the flames in several viral clips.
These videos, which are quickly making rounds on the internet, depict luminous entities that appear to navigate swiftly through the fire. Another video seems to capture a large, illuminated “mothership” within the billowing smoke, reports the Mirror US.
While some observers suggest that these could merely be natural atmospheric events caused by the intense heat of the fires, Chilean news outlet Ovniologica reports that there are theories about hostile drones operating in the area.
A Twitter user commented: “With 85mph winds it could be anything including pieces of flying burning debris, birds, bats, or swarms of insects. It’s odd-looking though…”
Cal Wire, a local news outlet, shared two videos with the description “strange fast-moving objects seen over SoCal fires”. Social media users are spotting bizarre projectiles weaving in and out of the #SoCal fires on live television. They posed the question: “Missile Firework? UFO? Arson? Are we under attack?”
Despite the absence of any external aggression, locals face a bleak situation. The seasonal Santa Ana winds are exacerbating the fire, with gusts reaching up to 80 mph, and conditions are expected to deteriorate further over the next 12 to 24 hours.
Officials have stated there is “no possibility” of getting the fires under control soon, with residents watching the encroaching flames worryingly confessing that they “don’t know where to go.”
Speaking to the Mirror, one Topanga Canyon resident disclosed: “Our area was evacuated. The fires are apocalyptic, catastrophic..”