Rapidly spreading wildfires have forced more than 30,000 people in the Los Angeles area, California, to evacuate their homes, abandon cars, as the sky turned red and strong winds knocked down trees and power lines.
Two major fires — one in Pacific Palisades and the other in the mountains above Pasadena — were not contained by Tuesday night (7) and winds were forecasted to reach up to 100 miles per hour, the strongest that Southern California has experienced in over a decade.Where are the fires burning?
One fire has already burned more than 2,900 acres in Pacific Palisades, a coastal neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles. The fire spread rapidly during Tuesday (7). By afternoon, the fire more than doubled in size in just about three hours.
East of the main city in California, another fire started Tuesday night in Eaton Canyon, in the San Gabriel Mountains above Altadena. The fire, which was being called the Eaton fire, consumed 1,000 acres overnight.
And to the north, the Hurst fire grew rapidly and forced evacuations in Sylmar, a suburb in the San Fernando Valley, northwest of downtown Los Angeles.How many homes have been destroyed?
Kristin M. Crowley, chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said on Tuesday afternoon (7) that several structures were damaged in Pacific Palisades, but it was unclear exactly how many homes or buildings were damaged by each fire.
In the area of the Palisades fire, authorities said that more than 10,000 residences and about 13,000 structures were under threat.Why did these major fires start at the same time?
Meteorologists warned this week of damaging wind gusts that would reach 50 to 80 mph, and even above 100 mph in the mountains. The winds, combined with dry air, created a critical fire weather event in Southern California. The hills are also covered in vegetation after two rainy winters that preceded. “This is the worst that can happen in terms of fire weather,” meteorologists said.
The winter and late fall tend to trigger catastrophic fires in California.
During periods without significant precipitation, as was the case this winter, vegetation becomes extremely dry. And the cooler weather in California coincides with the Santa Ana winds, the strong, dry gusts that blow from western Nevada and Utah into Southern California — and are linked to the region’s most devastating fires.
The deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s history, which destroyed the town of Paradise in Northern California, erupted in mid-November 2018.Will the fires continue to grow?
Unfortunately, yes, at least until Wednesday or Thursday. Firefighters were limited to battling the flames from the ground on Tuesday night, as their aircraft were grounded due to the strong winds.
Moderately strong winds in Los Angeles and Ventura counties are expected to continue until Thursday, according to meteorological authorities.Source: The New York Times