Increased firefighting efforts were deployed around Los Angeles to attack flare-ups or new fires, and worried residents braced for more fire danger as winds began to pick up Tuesday, a week after two massive inferno destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Tabitha Trosen packed away the significant things in her life and felt herself “tottering” on the edge with the constant fear that her neighborhood might be the next to be threatened.
“Our cats are ready to go, we have their carriers by the door set up with their little stuffed animals and stuff,” Trosen said. “It’s like, how do I take care of myself and what are the things that will ground me as a human and remind me of my origins, my life and my family.”
Los Angeles city and county officials are maintaining daily news coverage as several wildfires burn in the region.
Dry winds rose to 64 km/h in coastal and valley areas and 80 km/h in the mountains early Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall said. Gusts of up to 105 km/h were forecast to continue until midday Wednesday.
The weather service has issued a rare warning that winds combined with very dry conditions are creating an “extremely hazardous situation” indicating that any new fires could explode. Hall said the conditions could lead to extreme fire behavior that could spread embers three to five kilometers ahead of the flames or even spark fire tornadoes.
On Monday, planes doused houses and hillsides with bright pink fire-retardant chemicals, while crews and fire trucks were positioned near particularly vulnerable spots with dry brush. Dozens of additional water trucks arrived to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week when two of the largest fires broke out.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials – who have faced criticism for their initial response to the fires that broke out last week – expressed confidence Monday that the region is ready to face the new threat with numerous additional firefighters brought in from across the U.S. and, as well as Canada and Mexico.
“We’re absolutely better prepared,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said when asked what would be different from a week ago, when hurricane-force winds sparked multiple fires in a parched, brush-filled region with almost no rain for more than a week. of eight months.
Although winds were not expected to reach hurricane force last week, they could ground firefighting aircraft, Marrone said, warning that if winds reach 70 mph, “it will be very difficult to contain that fire.”
More than a dozen wildfires have broken out in Southern California since Jan. 1, mostly in the greater Los Angeles area.
Santa Ana winds were a major factor in the spread of wildfires in Los Angeles. The National asks prof. Janine Baijnath-Rodino, director of meteorology at UCLA, to explain why the winds are so strong and the science behind the severity of the fires.
