ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Many residents in California, especially in the Los Angeles-area have been forced to evacuate due to the still-ongoing and devastating wildfires.
One St. Louis native is among those in the Los Angeles-area dealing with the effects of the wildfires.
St. Louis-native Brian Ping, a reporter and news anchor for KNX NewsRadio in the Los Angeles-area, joined KMOX News to give his perspective of the ongoing wildfires.
"We've had instances where people are stuck in traffic jams trying to get out of fire zones and the flames were just barring them down on them, they got of their cars and left. They abandoned them," said Ping on 'Total Information A.M.'
"That creates a domino effect that can't be unjammed. It's just a awful situation as far as people not being able to get out in time to save much."
Ping says the only warning Los Angeles residents got 'was the fact we were going to have these strong winds.'
"As far as getting evacuation orders, that really only happened in a matter of hours before these fires sparked," said Ping. "The trouble with this is with winds so strong, you do not have much time."
Ping says unlike most wildfires in California, which often happen in the wilderness, this happened in a heavily populated area.
"We don't know if this was intentional, accidently set," said Ping. "It could take us days figuring that out."
Ping says there have been difficulties with getting the necessary resources to help combat the fire, with Ping noting the Los Angeles Fire Department having to call all of it off-duty firefighters into work as an example.
In addition, Ping also notes they have gotten reports of people running out of water.
"We got reports of Pacific Palisades literally ran out of water in their hydrants," said Ping. "This is going to raise a lot of questions as far as the city's preparedness and whether it is equipped to handle a major disaster like this."