At least five people have been killed and thousands of homes have been destroyed in wildfires that have ravaged several neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California – the most populous state in the United States.
More than 130,000 residents in different parts of the city of Los Angeles have been ordered to evacuate as the fires, which broke out on Tuesday, continue to spread rapidly, fueled by strong winds.
So how big are the fires now and how did they start?
What started the California wildfires?
The first fire broke out at 10:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. GMT) Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Investigators are still trying to determine the exact trigger of the worst firestorm in recent memory, but a combination of factors may have created optimal conditions for a fire.
California typically experiences wildfires in June and July, and they can last into October, but the fire defied the calendar this year, breaking out in January – the coldest month of winter.
Southern California, the location of the fires, is experiencing drought conditions and has not seen significant precipitation in months. Last year, less than four percent of California was affected by drought, compared to nearly 60 percent this year. according to the US drought monitoring agency.
Climate change has contributed to an increase in the frequency, season length and burned area of wildfires, according to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
So dry conditions favored by the Santa Ana winds – dry, warm winds common in the region – most likely caused the wildfires.
Dry desert air moves from the interior of the region toward the coast and out to sea. It contributes to wildfires because it significantly reduces environmental humidity due to its dry nature. This makes the vegetation very dehydrated and vulnerable to fires. In these circumstances, any spark can start a fire, whether it comes from a cigarette butt, a vehicle or a power line.
Gusts of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) were recorded at higher elevations Tuesday evening, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Danielle Ehresman.
Besides dry vegetation, Los Angeles has other flammable materials such as hanging electrical cables and wooden telephone polls.
Santa Ana winds have been associated with extreme wildfires in California in the past, including the Woolsey Fire in November 2018, which killed three people and razed 1,600 structures.
Experts warn, however, that the weather conditions are disastrous This year.
“We really haven’t seen a season as dry as this one after a season as wet as the last – all this extremely heavy growth of grass and vegetation followed immediately by a wind of this magnitude while it’s still incredibly dry,” Daniel Swain, a climatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Monday during a live broadcast.
How bad are the wildfires in California?
Rapid spread
The fire broke out in Palisades, located on the Pacific Ocean, and from there the fire quickly spread to other neighborhoods. The second fire broke out in Eaton around 6 p.m. (0200 GMT) on Tuesday. A third fire also broke out the same day in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, called the Hurst Fire.
Five more fires broke out in California on Wednesday: the Lidia, Sunset and Woodley fires in Los Angeles; the Olivas Fire in Ventura and the Tyler Fire in Riverside.
Quantity of land burned
According to Cal Fire, here is the current status of the major fires as of Wednesday evening:
- Palisades: At least 6,970 hectares (17,234 acres)
- Eaton: At least 4,290 hectares (10,600 acres)
- Hurst: At least 346 hectares (855 acres)
- Lidia: At least 140 hectares (348 acres)
- Sunset: at least 17 hectares (43 acres)
The Woodley Fire burned 30 acres (12 hectares) of land while the Olivas and Tyler fires both burned 11 acres (4.5 hectares) each.
Here is a comparison of aerial images of the Pacific Coast Highway before and after the Palisades Fire.
And this is Altadena before and after the Eaton Fire.
Containment
The percent containment of a fire refers to the perimeter or containment line established around the fire by firefighters to prevent it from spreading further. A containment line can be any physical barrier around the fire, such as a shallow trench dug in the earth.
The fires in California are barely contained, meaning there is no prevention against their spread. The Palisades, Eaton and Sunset fires are all 0% contained, while the Hurst fire is 10% contained and the Lidia fire is 40% contained.
The Woodley, Olivas and Tyler fires are 100% contained, according to Cal Fire.
What was the government’s response?
The scale of the fires has become uncontrollable, according to local firefighters.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a message Wednesday evening that 7,500 firefighters were currently on the ground.
US President Joe Biden has canceled an upcoming trip to Italy to focus on the federal response to the fire, the White House announced.
Biden posted on his X account that his team had provided 5 air tankers and 10 firefighting helicopters. However, strong winds hampered air rescue efforts.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a news conference that firefighters from six other states, including Nevada, were rushed to California. Additionally, 250 engine builders employing 1,000 people were transferred from Northern California to Southern California.
But resources are dwindling.
Water shortages in the Palisades have dried up some hydrants.
Janisse Quinones, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a news conference that Pacific Palisades relies on three reservoirs, each holding about a million gallons (3.78 million liters). ). Quinones added that the demand for water to put out fires at low altitudes created difficulties in filling water reservoirs at high altitudes.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has issued evacuation orders for Hollywood, Hurst and the Palisades. Click here to view the LAFD interactive evacuation map.
What’s next?
Winds have weakened to around 30 to 50 mph (50 to 80 km/h), but the fires are still active.
Unfortunately, winds are expected to pick up Thursday evening and Friday morning. However, the latter will not be as intense as the winds which intensified the fires on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Winds are expected to ease by Friday and red flag fire warnings will be removed later in the evening.
