State Forest Service Observations of Southern California Wind-Driven Spectrally Driven Fires: Damage and Economic Loss Estimates
On Thursday, AccuWeather, a commercial company that provides data on weather and its impact, increased its estimate of total damage and economic loss to the region at between $135 billion to $150 billion.
The winds mellowed 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 NBA has moved the Lakers- Hornets game to an unknown time, while the Vikings- Rams game has been moved to Arizona.
The Palisade Fire, which has burned almost 20,000 acres, was 0 percent contained on Thursday. Some celebrities, like Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton, lost their homes. The Eaton Fire in Pasadena, roughly 25 miles to the east, was also uncontained, but the fire department has been able to slow its growth. The Sunset Fire that started in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday was quickly hemmed in, and two others are partially contained.
Firefighters made progress overnight against nearly all of the ongoing fires across southern California, including the massive Palisades and Eaton fires, officials said Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Lidia fire near Acton reached more than 75% containment. Over one-third of the Hurst fire near Sylmar and the Kenneth fire in West Hills have been contained.
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It is important that the containment lines are able to resist strong wind gusts of up to 60 mph on Friday. There is a red flag warning in place.
Firefighters in California have switched from defense to offense because of reinforcements from other states. Rather than just saving individual buildings, they are now trying to stop the overall advance of the flames.
California residents have been affected by the destruction. Jinghuan Liu Tervalon, who lost her Altadena home to the Eaton fire, told NPR she only expected to evacuate for just a day and did not know her home’s fire insurance coverage.
“I keep on waking up at night thinking, ‘Oh, my God, how did I not anticipate this?’” she said. If I could travel back in time, I would have packed more stuff.
The curfew is in effect from 6 pm Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. The curfew is put in place to improve public safety and protect property, said Robert Luna, the LA Sheriff.
A person was arrested Thursday after reports of suspected arson near the Kenneth fire. There was not enough probable cause, but the individual is being held on a probation violation, Dominic Choi, LA Police Department assistant chief, said Friday. He added that the investigation is ongoing.
California firefighters have begun to see some progress against the wildfires that are raging for a fourth day. The gains were at risk as powerful, dry winds ignite and intensify flames, LA officials are trying to find out why emergency alert were sent in error to millions of residents.
Margaret Stewart of the LA Fire Department said that their priority was saving lives and protecting property. The ability to operate at our full capacity lets us have a more powerful assault.
In a two-pronged attack, firefighters and bulldozers starve the fire of fuel on the ground while aircraft do their best to douse it from the air. At times earlier in the week, planes had to be grounded because of the severity of the wind.
The key factor has been the winds of up to 99 miles per hour. They have been fanning the flames and throwing burning embers a half mile in front of 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.
“These pressurized winds literally explode out of these canyons,” says Janet Upton, former deputy director of Cal Fire. It’s all you can do to get something out of the way.
The LA Wildfires: Firefighters make progress on LA fires, and alert system is changed (with an update by Lauren and M. McKay)
“We have received support from all over,” said Lauren and her husband, who runs the fish house. It just blew up in the best possible way because my husband and I put out a call to action on our social media. We are grateful that people trusted us to bring the items they donated to where they needed to go.
Images coming out of the region show the devastating effects of the climate calamity. But they also depict the community banding together in the face of tragedy.
At the Pan Pacific Park Recreation Center near central LA, donations overflowed so much that the center started to turn them away. In Huntington Beach, a small seafood restaurant also began housing donations for people affected by the fires. The owners told NPR that there has been an endless stream of volunteers.
In the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, two elementary schools were lost and one high school was badly damaged. There was damage to five schools in the Pasadena Unified School District. Other districts are still assessing the destruction.
According to the LA County Sheriff’s Department, many thousands of people have had to evacuate from their homes in the LA area.
The LA County Archer Fire and Wildfires: Report of Misleading Evacuation Alerts, Winds, and a Newly-Deployed Power Outage
While strong winds and dry conditions helped fuel the fires, the exact cause remains unclear. The sheriff said the fires were under an active and fluid investigation. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation into why local fire hydrants went dry earlier this week.
There was a small fire in the San Fernando Valley on Friday. Firefighters there were able to quickly control the Archer fire, which consumed about 19 acres.
As fires rage on, LA County officials announced Saturday that they have changed the county’s alert and notification system to partner with the state’s alert center while they investigate the root cause behind the false evacuation alerts sent to more than 10 million Angelenos earlier this week.
But gusty winds are picking up again this weekend and possibly through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters say the worsening conditions will keep wildfires an ongoing threat and potentially cause power outages in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.