It was like a scene out of a Hollywood movie when one Yorkshireman drove to his hotel in Los Angeles the same day a trio of wildfires could be seen ravaging the area.

Former Conservative councillor and Venue23 bar owner Karl Johnson, said: “As I was coming through (LA) there were fires on the side of the road and pylons coming down - bits of trees, rubbish, everything, being thrown across the street, electric off.”

Wakefield-based Karl had spent the first part of his holiday in Las Vegas before driving to LA which was in a state of emergency.

“It took 5-6 hours, the traffic was quite bad,” he said.

In some parts of LA, bulldozers can be seen removing cars when 30,000 residents were forced to evacuate and many of them abandoning their vehicles.

Karl, who also works as a Freddie Mercury tribute act, said: “Only I could arrive at a city that's on fire. High winds, and it's all over the world news.”

Karl had left the snow in Yorkshire and found himself in the heart of LA with thick clouds of smoke filling the area.