Los Angeles Braces For 'Explosive Growth' Of Fire As High Speed Wind Emerges (X image @CAL_FIRE)
California, US: Los Angeles firefighter braces up for potential high wind overnight into Tuesday, as the raging fireballs continues to roam mostly uncontained. The dry wind called as Santa Ana still burn across the city. The wind is feared to accelerate the pace of spreading fire, and cause disruption to other parts of California as well. Currently, there are four active fires in California.
A new and fast moving fire, named as the “Auto Fire” erupted near a homeless encampment by the Santa Clara River in Ventura. The blaze has quickly grown to 5-10 acres. Strong winds in the area are also not helping the situation.
Though initially the fire threatened to swallow the whole neighbourhood with its speed, it was tackled a while later. Ventura County Fire Department posted on X: “Forward progress on the Auto fire has been stopped. The fire has been mapped at 55.7 acres with 0% containment.”
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As per fire experts, containing a fire is different from stopping it to progress forward. When a fire is contained, it means it is surrounded by a lack of fuel to keep it from spreading; stopping forward progress means it has stopped moving forwards in a certain direction.
As the Santa Ana picked up speed, a red flag warning was in effect on Monday. Gusts could hit 75 mph (120 kph) starting at around 4 a.m. Tuesday (1200 GMT), said David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Reportedly, more than 8,500 firefighters attacked the fires from the air and on the ground, preventing the conflagrations at either end of Los Angeles from spreading overnight.
“This setup is about as bad as it gets,” Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told local residents. “We are not in the clear. So far, the fires have destroyed or damaged more than 12,000 structures leaving behind an apocalyptic landscape.
More than 92,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders – down from a previous high of more than 150,000 – while a further 89,000 faced evacuation warnings.
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The Pacific Palisades fire, which burned 23,713 acres (96 square km) could only be contained 14 percentage. The Eaton Fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains east of the city consumed another 14,117 acres (57 sq km) and was 33% contained, reported the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The number of death toll is feared to be higher than imagined. Reportedly, deputies are finding human remains every day as they search through burned-out parts of Altadena, where the Eaton fire first ignited, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
On the other hand, LA’s police forces continue to deal with reports of looting and arson. Nine people were arrested on Monday for looting, as well as one person for arson at a local park. The police warn that maximum sentences will be handed out to anyone convicted.
