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Firefighters are making progress at the Franklin Fire in Malibu as winds weaken and humidity rises, with crews reaching 30% containment rate by Thursday night.
The fire broke out Monday night near Pepperdine University amid wind gusts of 105 mph and extremely low humidity levels, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a red alert for much of Los Angeles County. The warning expired at 1 p.m. Wednesday as wind speeds eased and helped rescue about 2,000 firefighters battling the 4,000-acre blaze.
Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Eleni Pappas said at a midday news conference that Thursday was “cloudy, cooler temperatures, higher humidity, and a succumbing to the red flag event.” “With the cooperation of the weather, we hope to be able to further surround the fire and achieve complete containment.”
Changes in the weather allowed limited repopulation in some areas on Thursday. Still, large parts of the city remained off-limits due to the danger posed by downed power lines.
At least nine structures were confirmed to have been damaged and six destroyed. Fire officials warned that number could rise further as more homes are assessed.
Localized wind gusts of up to 30 mph and very low humidity are expected in the Los Angeles area through Thursday. However, these conditions no longer meet extreme danger criteria, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Kristan Lund said a low-pressure system moved into the area Thursday, giving a 20% chance of rain in the afternoon.
Pappas said any rain would be welcome, but warned that the amount of rain expected for Thursday would not eliminate the fire danger from dry brush in the Malibu Mountains.
“Unfortunately, at this time of year, we run out of fuel,” she says. “When the embers get in there, there’s a lot of fuel in there, and it burns with a very high heat content, so it doesn’t matter what kind of rain we get today or in the next few days. But [rain] It will definitely help and provide a better environment for firefighters. ”
Temperatures will remain cool Thursday and Friday, with nighttime lows in the 40s and daytime highs in the 60s. Light rain is possible again in Los Angeles County on Saturday. More precipitation is expected to the north, with heavy rain expected in San Luis Obispo County.
Strong storms are also expected in Northern California on Thursday, Friday and into the weekend, bringing 1 to 2 inches of rain to the Sacramento and San Francisco areas and 10 to 20 inches of snow to areas above 5,000 feet. It is expected to rain. Sierra.
After a dangerously dry start to the week, humidity levels in inland Los Angeles County returned to the 30% to 50% range Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Humidity began to rise near the Franklin Fire on Wednesday, reaching low teens in Malibu by the afternoon. Concentrations continued to rise on Thursday, reaching up to 70% on the Malibu coast by afternoon, the weather bureau said.
Humidity levels are expected to continue rising Thursday as onshore winds return from the ocean and over the mountains, which should help firefighters get a handle on the fire, Lund said.
On Monday, humidity levels were in the single digits as Santa Ana’s deadly winds gusted up to 100 kilometers per hour. The threatening combination prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to issue an unusual red flag for “particularly dangerous conditions.”
The Bureau of Meteorology says such extreme warnings should only be issued on average once every three to five years. However, this year there were two cases in quick succession.
On November 5th, an “Extremely Hazardous Conditions” alert was issued for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The next day, a wildfire exploded in Camarillo Heights, burning more than 20,000 acres and destroying more than 130 buildings, fanned by wind gusts of 130 mph.
Gov. Gavin Newsom grimly said at a news conference Tuesday that the Franklin Fire proved that “fire season is not a season; it continues all year round in California.”
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