The California Wild Fires are Coming: Newsom’s First Fire and Two More Fires in the Los Angeles County, California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said more than 7,500 personnel are responding to the fires across local, state and federal agencies. They are using a lot of things to fight the fires.
“We just finished cleaning up from the Rose Parade of all things, and now this,” she said. “We had the big thing that showed off how wonderful life is here followed immediately by something showing off how awful life can be.”
Cheryl Heuton and her husband left their home in Pasadena with just toothbrushes, laptops and old stuffed animals that belonged to their children when they were younger.
An evacuation order signals the fire poses an “immediate threat to life” and mandates evacuations, while an evacuation warning carries a “potential threat to life and/or property” and suggests that those with pets and livestock, and those who would need more time to evacuate, do so, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, better known as Cal Fire.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – Cal Fire says there have been two fires which have been somewhat contained.
On the morning of January 7, the first of Los Angeles’ vast wildfires broke out in a forested area near Topanga State Park on the northwest edge of the city. The blaze spread quickly because of the unfavorable conditions: low humidity, high winds, and a landscape primed to burn after months of no rain.
“Critical fire weather will last through Friday for portions of LA and Ventura counties, including major wildfire locations such as the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire and the Hurst Fire,” the NWS says. “Gusty winds and very dry conditions will continue to fuel fire starts and existing fires. Use extreme caution with any source of ignition and follow instructions from local officials.
There was a second fire 40 kilometers away in the Altadena area. More than 130,000 people have been forced to flee their homes after several smaller fires in the LA area burned more than 30,000 acres of land.
A High-Speed, Low-Hydrodynamic Santa Ana Wind Event on Friday and Saturday. I. The WNWSO and Fire Department
A wind advisory will be in effect for the rest of the day. The NWS advises residents to stay at least 100 feet away from downed power lines and call 911.
“When the winds are 30 to 60 mph, you can expect it a couple times a year,” Cohen told NPR’s Morning Edition. “Every once in a while we get a much stronger Santa Ana wind event like what we had over the past 24 to 36 hours, in which case we ended up with a widespread, life-threatening and destructive windstorm.”
“When the winds go from 30 to 60 mph, there are a couple times a year when they are on the order of 30 to 60 mph,” Cohen told Morning Edition.
Another round of winds from the northeast are expected to develop Thursday, with winds strengthening and “another moderate to locally strong Santa Ana wind event is forecast,” the agency says. The wind gusts will reach a maximum of 55 mph before increasing to between 10 and 15 mph overnight. This, combined with extremely low humidity, is conducive to fueling flames.
The winds decreased on Wednesday and Thursday. They were anticipated to reach 15 to 20 miles per hour Thursday afternoon, before ticking up to 30 to 40 miles per hour on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Firefighters that were helpless against virtually unstoppable wind-driven blazes have been able to return to their normal tactics.
“The confluence of factors — wind, fire and smoke — have created dangerous, complex situations that present unsafe conditions for our school communities,” the district said.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chairman Ken Pimlott: “The Palisades Fire is Coming Into Our Own,” he said in a press release
The major disaster declaration made by the President will provide federal funding to affected residents and allow for grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.
We are with you in Southern California. The president had canceled the trip to Italy to focus on the fire response.
Red flag warnings have been extended through Friday for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as gusty winds whip across the area and multiple fires burn out of control.
Several movie premieres have been canceled due to dangerous conditions, such as that of the movie Better Man and the movie Wolf Man, which was produced by Ryan Gosling. On Thursday, California authorities ordered the evacuation of the Hollywood neighborhood after a fire broke out a few hundred yards from Hollywood Boulevard. The out-of-control situation has also led the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to postpone the announcement of the Oscar nominations by two days.
At least six people have been killed and thousands of buildings have been destroyed by the fires in Los Angeles. But as the winds driving the inferno have slackened, experts are cautiously optimistic that the blazes can soon be beaten back.
LA Fire Department spokesman Margaret Stewart says saving lives and protecting property was their main focus on Tuesday and Wednesday. We can have a more powerful assault now that we are able to operate at full capacity.
In a two-pronged attack, aircraft have ramped up dousing the fires from the air while firefighters and bulldozers starve them of fuel on the ground. At times earlier in the week, planes had to be grounded because of the severity of the wind.
“I would say [the tide] is turning,” says Ken Pimlott, former director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. “Today and tomorrow are really the key windows to get through, the red flag fire weather conditions. I think we will start to see more progress.
The key factor was the winds over 99 miles per hour. They have been blowing the flames down from the northeast, to the southwest, and to the main fire. Canyons running largely the same direction have funneled and intensified that movement of air, creating what Pimlott called a “blowtorch” that spread the Palisades Fire. The flames have been uncontrollable.
In the canyons there are pressurized winds that explode, according to Janet Upton, former deputy director of Cal Fire. “All you can do is work to get anything with a heartbeat out of the way.”