site.btaBulgarian Musician Blagomira Lipari: LA Authorities Doing Great Job in Terms of Organization and Information

Bulgarian violinist Blagomira Lipari, who lives in Stevenson Ranch, in the north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, told BTA's BG World service on Friday night that her home was safe and there was no smoke nearby as devastating wildfires raged on in other parts of LA. She noted that grass, bushes and branches in Stevenson Ranch are cleared every month for fire safety purposes.

A versatile solo, chamber and orchestral musician, Lipari is winner of the "Ivan Vazov" Bulgarian national medal for her significant contribution to Bulgarian art and culture around the world.

According to her, six fires were still burning in LA. She said: "We are relatively close to three wildfires, a 15 minutes' drive to the north of the Hurst Fire, which is contained at 40%. We are also a 20 minutes' drive to the west of the Lidia Fire, which is contained or extinguished at 75%. The third fire is a new one which started today, literally next to the Hurst Fire. We are receiving text messages about risk levels, evacuation plans and compulsory evacuation. The authorities are doing a great job in terms of organization and information."

The Bulgarian added that firefighters were working round the clock in the vicinity of Stevenson Ranch.

Earlier on Friday, Bulgarian film producer Petro Dushkov told BTA: "Quite a few friends and acquaintances of mine lost their houses, but fortunately, everyone escaped safely and is in good health. Their lives have changed forever, though."

Yet another Bulgarian in LA, Antoan Petrov, commented: "What everyone in Los Angeles is experiencing is like the movie, The Towering Inferno, magnified a thousand times. The city, mainly the suburbs, are burning on multiple sides." Petrov was speaking from a small town 120 mi (193 km) northwest of LA. "We arrived here yesterday, we wanted to escape from the smoke," he explained.

Three of the five members of the board of the Bulgarian-American Cultural Educational Society of California (BACES) are in southern California at a safe distance from the fires, BACES told BTA.

The Bulgarian Consulate General in LA says on its Facebook page that the US Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency for California to aid the healthcare response to the wildfires. A curfew is in place in the areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires, the Consulate General says.