(NewsNation) — As wildfires ravage parts of southern California, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, president of the Los Angeles City Council, says people should leave the picture-taking to the professionals.
“We have people out trying to get videos for Tiktok and to help Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook or Instagram. We don’t need your video on this,” Harris-Dawson told “Morning in America” Wednesday. “There’s plenty of footage from the professionals — go inside, go to a place that is safe, and stay off the roads as much as possible.”
While Harris-Dawson can understand some people also want to stay to protect their property, the problem with that is the potential danger to neighbors.
“Emergency resources may have to come and pull you out,” Harris-Dawson said.
Tens of thousands of people are evacuating as three wildfires rip through parts of Los Angeles County. They were all at 0% containment as of Wednesday morning.
“We advise everybody, when there’s an evacuation order, or even if you think there might be danger, evacuate as soon as you possibly can,” Harris-Dawson urged. “Other than that, we’re asking everybody that can stay off the roads so that our roads are open for emergency vehicles.”
For those living in the neighborhoods affected by the fires, “it is completely terrifying,” Harris-Dawson said.
“This is one of the mightiest sets of fires that we’ve seen in Southern California,” he said.