Due to wildfires in Hollywood, the announcement of the Oscar nominees has been postponed.

On Wednesday, January 8, large-scale wildfires erupted in California, USA, destroying hundreds of homes and claiming at least five lives. The flames reached the Hollywood Hills and the city of Eaton, prompting evacuation orders for 100,000 residents, reported Reuters.

The wildfires, fueled by low humidity and strong winds, are being reported in several locations across California. Efforts to extinguish them are hampered by a lack of water in urban systems and severe wind gusts.

In particular, the blaze continues in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, where over 20 hectares of land have burned, totaling 406 hectares. This area is home to the Dolby Theatre, where the Academy Awards ceremony takes place.

Due to the fire encroaching upon Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame, the leadership of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the postponement of the announcement of this year's nominees. The Critics Choice Awards, originally scheduled for January 11-12, have been delayed by two weeks, with the nominee announcement pushed back to January 19.

More than 100,000 individuals have been evacuated from Eaton, Hurst, and the elite Pacific Palisades neighborhood, known for its celebrity residents. Among those evacuated are film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore, James Woods, Maria Shriver, and others.

U.S. President Joe Biden has declared federal assistance for the state affected by the fires. Currently, 7,500 firefighters are working to contain the blazes. As a result of the fires, 400,000 people are without electricity, and about 1,000 structures have been destroyed.

The damages caused by the wildfires exceed $57 billion – according to AccuWeather, this incident in California could become the worst fire in the state's modern history.