More fires are sparking in Southern California and spreading to the Hollywood Hills
The Los Angeles County Wildland Fires: Seasonally-Promoting Air Temperature and Winds, and a Key Effect of High Pressure Over the Desert
Los Angeles County, primed by drought-like conditions, was a tinderbox waiting for a spark. Planes used to drop water and flame retardants, but the winds were so ferocious they were not allowed to land. In a Wednesday morning release, officials warned that all residents of Los Angeles county are in danger. tens of thousands of people have been relocated and thousands more are waiting for updates. By Wednesday evening, three major fires had consumed over 13,000 acres with containment efforts lagging: The Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, Hurst Fire in Sylmar, and Eaton Fire near Pasadena have showed no signs of slowing down, are at the time of writing 0 percent contained, and have already become the most destructive in California history.
The two largest blazes — the Palisades and Eaton Fires — have consumed more than 10,000 acres each and prompted mandatory evacuations for almost 70,000 people as of Wednesday. Another 58,000 people have been warned to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.
Santa Ana winds are common during the cooler months from September through May, says a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service. They are caused by a ridge of high pressure over the desert of the southwestern U.S., which moves through the mountain areas of Southern California toward the Pacific coast.
“The high pressure that develops over that region, coupled with lower pressure down over southern California, creates this strong flow of air that comes out of Nevada and hits our coastal mountain range, the San Gabriel Mountains, and out to the Inland Empire area,” Wofford says.
The key characteristic is that the winds are what’s known as katabatic, meaning they flow downhill, says Mingfang Ting, a professor at Columbia University’s Climate School.
As the air mass drops in altitude, it compresses and heats up — by about 10 degrees Celsius per kilometer (18 degrees Fahrenheit per 0.6 of a mile). It’s a “very effective way of warming up the air,” she says.
“As the air warms up, it also decreases its humidity,” she says. Air moving through a tunnel or the wind between buildings is stronger than it is through a narrow mountain pass.
He says that the current dry conditions mean “everything is ready to go” for fires, and that wind gusts as high as 100 mph are possible in some places.
There are a lot of cars in the area. Someone will pull over next to the area where there’s a dry brush if one breaks down.
The New California Fires: A Cataclysmic Sequence of Climate Change, Winds, and Climate Change Change-Induced Fires
Park Williams, a professor of geography and head of the HyFiVeS Research Group at UCLA, describes the present scenario as a “hyperbolic sequence of climate and weather events over the past two years.”
Climate Change is increasing the risk of late- or early-season fires in California, while winds aren’t unseasonal. “This is not only a particularly strong wind event, but is also a particularly dry season here in the beginning of January,” says Diffenbaugh. One of the driest seasons on record has occurred in Southern California, which runs from October through April. As precipitation is more variable due to climate change, the overlap between the windy season and the dry season is increasing. Trudeau says they are seeing a lot of hot, dry, windy days in Southern California.
The fires turned catastrophic so quickly because of unusually dry and windy conditions: “Any little spark, whether from a lightning strike or a person or a campfire is going to quickly, quickly escalate,” says Jennifer Marlon, research scientist and lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. “Once a fire starts in these conditions, it’s very, very hard to get under control,” adds Kaitlyn Trudeau, senior research associate of climate science at the nonprofit news organization Climate Central.
The winds were stronger than usual due to a dip in the jet stream in northwestern Mexico. Winds that are usually relegated to higher elevations are reaching lower terrain areas. He says that every so often, we get wind events of this magnitude.
The Hollywood Hills Fires: Evacuation Zones are Lifted Due to Dry Conditions, Winds, and Wind Accretion
State and federal agencies have more than 7,500 personnel responding to the fires. They are using a wide variety of tools to fight the fires.
She said that they had just finished cleaning up from the Rose Parade. One thing showed how wonderful life is here, then the next thing showed how bad life can be.
Cheryl Heuton left their home in Pasadena with just a toothbrush, a laptop, and a stuffed animal that belonged to their children.
The fire poses an “Immediate threat to life” and requires those with pets and livestock to leave; the other option is a “potential threat to life and/or property” and suggests that the people who need more time to flee should do so.
Only two fires have been somewhat contained — Lidia (40%) and Woodley (100%) — according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection — Cal Fire.
The Sunset fire broke out Wednesday night, encroaching on the Hollywood Hills and prompting mandatory evacuations in notable parts of the area, such as Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Boulevard and Runyon Canyon Park. By early Thursday morning, most of the evacuation zone had been lifted, said the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“The fires in the area are being started by winds and very dry conditions,” it said referring to the fires in the area.
There are more than 30,000 acres stillburning in Los Angeles County and firefighters are having trouble controlling the blazes.
The Santa Ana Wind Event and Public Works Workforce Plan: Advisory Letter for Los Angeles and Ventura County, California, Through the Friday Evening
There is a wind advisory in effect until 2 pm on Friday. The NWS recommends that residents stay away from downed power lines and call for help.
In case you missed it, there was a widespread, life-threatening and destructive windstorm that we had over the past 24 to 36 hours because of the Santa Ana wind event.
“The typical strengths of the winds are on the order of, say, 30 to 60 mph when they occur, a couple times a year,” Ariel Cohen, chief meteorologist for the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard, told NPR’s Morning Edition.
The winds reached their highest speeds earlier in the day, with speeds reaching as high as 90 mph in Henninger Flats and 89 mph at Saddle Peak.
“Wind, fire and smoke have wreaked havoc on our school communities, creating dangerous, complex situations that present unsafe conditions for our school communities,” the district said.
President Biden made a major disaster declaration on Wednesday which provides federal funding to affected residents, as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
They are with you in Southern California. The president canceled his planned trip to Italy on Wednesday to focus on the fire response.
Red flag warnings for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties are in effect through Friday as multiple fires burn out of control.
The winds in US’ Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where multiple wildfires are burning, are expected to reach gusts of up to 100kmph. “The typical strengths of…winds are on…order of…30 to 60 mph when they occur a couple times a year,” National Weather Service (NWS) LA/Oxnard Chief Meteorologist Ariel Cohen said. Red flag warnings are in effect through Friday.