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Firefighters are battling the Palisades Fire through a long and dangerous night as terrifying winds are expected to get even stronger, potentially hampering air-based firefighting efforts.
The fire broke out at 10:30 a.m. on Piedra Morada Drive and was fanned by strong wind gusts, burning 2,921 acres by evening and forcing more than 30,000 residents to evacuate their homes. The extreme weather sweeping Southern California is expected to peak between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday, posing serious challenges to overnight efforts to combat the growing fires.
“Not only is this not over, it’s just beginning, and it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, said at a briefing shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Mr Swain said the strongest and most widespread winds were “yet to come” and the lowest humidity.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Malone said winds were expected to increase into the evening and air raids could become impossible if wind speeds continued to exceed 30 to 40 mph.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who visited the scene of the Palisades fire, said while it may be frustrating for residents to see firefighting aircraft on the ground, falling water and retardants can quickly be blown away by the wind. , said strong winds could reduce the effectiveness of firefighting efforts. Tuesday.
“We can be there all day and make people feel good, but we’re not doing anything good,” he said.
The combination of extreme winds and extremely low humidity creates dangerous conditions for new fires to start overnight.
“We’re predicting, and I hope we’re wrong, that there will be other fires,” Newsom said, adding that the state is in high-fire-risk areas. He added that the company is strategically deploying resources.
Swain echoed the governor’s sentiments, saying, “Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s likely that that will actually happen.”
Pasadena spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said that prediction came true as the fire broke out in the foothills of Pasadena and quickly grew to 20 acres by about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. . The Pasadena Fire Department was on the scene, concerned about the potential for rapid spread amid the ferocious winds.
The National Weather Service predicts that the ongoing storm will be the most destructive to hit the Los Angeles area since 2011.
Before the Palisades fire broke out, the National Weather Service issued a warning of “extremely dangerous conditions” for large areas of Los Angeles and eastern Ventura counties, citing extreme fire danger. The warning is set to expire on Thursday.
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