Oscar nominations delayed due to California wildfires

The nominations announcement of the 97th Academy Awards, originally scheduled for January 17, has been postponed to January 19 in the wake of the raging wildfires in the Southern California region.

According to Variety, the Academy sent an email from CEO Bill Kramer to members on Wednesday afternoon regarding the date changes.

"We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California. So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you," the email read.

Subsequently, the deadline for Oscar nomination voting has been extended by two days till January 14. Voting for the nearly 10,000 Academy members opened on January 8 and was originally set to close on January 12.

Conan O'Brien will host the 2025 Oscars ceremony, which takes place on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

According to US media, a fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles' most iconic spots as firefighters battled to get under control three other major blazes that killed five people, put 100,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged the city from the Pacific Coast to inland Pasadena.

Hollywood celebrities residing in California like Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton, and Cary Elwes lost their homes to the fire.

While premieres of films "Unstoppable", "Wolf Man", "Better Man" and "The Pitt" were cancelled, SAG Awards nominations which were supposed to be announced at a live event were unveiled in a press release.

The Critics Choice Awards, which were scheduled for January 12 in Santa Monica, has been pushed to January 26.