What’s next for the LA Fire Crisis

Several wildfires burning in southern California may spread further before they are brought under control, based on worrying forecasts of more gusty winds early this week.

Forced fires tens of thousands to evacuate Los Angeles last week. The flames are supercharged from extremely dry conditions on the ground and strong winds from the northeast, which caused the inferno to spread rapidly in a densely populated area. Some of the strongest wind gusts that fueled the spread of the fires last week hovered around 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour). The latest weather reports indicate that conditions will remain extremely favorable for the wildfire to spread through at least midweek.

According to a national weather service alertweather conditions in the area “will again lead to strong gusts in typically favored areas across the Southern California coast today with winds peaking between 40-50 mph (64 to 80 km/h).”

“Conditions are expected to worsen for these areas from Tuesday morning as wind gusts near 70 mph (113 km/h) will be possible,” added the alert.

Taken in tandem with the low humidity across the region and the lack of recent rain, the conditions are prime for fires. NWS issued a Particularly Hazardous Situation Red Flag Warning for the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara in effect from Monday evening through Wednesday morning.

A Red Flag warning “means that critical fire weather conditions are occurring now … or will occur soon,” according to the NWS. “A combination of strong winds … low relative humidity … and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.”

According to Cal FireThere are currently 105 fires larger than 10 acres burning across the state. The largest fires by far are the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County, which have burned 23,713 acres and 14,117 acres, respectively. The Palisades Fire is currently 14% contained and the Eaton Fire is 33% contained. The Hurst Fire, an 800-acre fire also in LA County, is 89% contained. All the fires started on January 7.

In total, the current fire emergencies in California have burned more than 40,000 hectares, destroyed 12,300 structures, and killed 13 people, Cal Fire reports, although the New York Times said. the death toll at 24 and count.

Not a good start to the year, especially considering that fire season typically from May to November. Although 40,000 hectares is not much compared to the million hectares of California that burned last year, we are not even two weeks into January. In addition, the location of ongoing fires makes them especially dangerous; the 8,000 fires that burned last year caused just one fatality and damaged or destroyed 2,148 structures — far lower numbers than this year.

The origin of the fires is still under investigation. Fires have many sources, from human activity to electrocuted birds bursting into flames (seriously).

There are several important steps you can take it if you are in an area that could be prone to fire. If you want to help with wildfire recovery, resources can be found in LA County website.