Los Angeles and Ventura counties braced Friday for the final day of red flag fire weather warnings ahead of a day of relief amid the historic devastation caused by the firestorm that hit the nation’s most populous counties.
However, strong winds from the north and northeast are expected to return as early as Sunday. This could trigger up to three Santa Ana-like events next week.
“Given the conditions to date, the fact that there has been little rain across the region since the spring of 2024, and the new offshore wind events on top of everything we’ve seen before, the fire weather “We are extremely concerned that conditions may worsen further,” the National Weather Service said.
Considering the 19,978-acre Palisades Fire and 13,690-acre Eaton Fire that broke out this week killed at least 10 people and damaged or destroyed more than 9,000 homes, businesses and other buildings, making them the deadliest fires in Los Angeles County history. This was a grim prediction. Property Damage Conditions. Economic losses could exceed $50 billion, and it will almost certainly rank as one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
First, Friday’s ongoing Santa Ana wind event appears to be typical of one that still poses a risk of rapid fire spread if ignited.
“This is shaping up to be a classic Santa Ana event,” the weather service said of the expected weather Friday morning. Forecasters said the western edge of the Palisades Fire will see some strong winds, but fortunately the Eaton Fire, which has burned through Pasadena and Altadena, is not expected to have a major impact.
The Bureau of Meteorology said winds were expected to “quickly weaken by late night or early afternoon” and the red flag warning was due to end at 6pm on Friday.
But back-to-back winds are possible in Santa Ana next week, with the first winds arriving Sunday before stronger winds possible Monday night into Tuesday.
And locations along Santa Ana’s typical wind corridor, including Oxnard, Camarillo and Newhall, experienced gusts near 80 mph, with “more powerful and damaging winds possible in Santa Ana Tuesday night into Wednesday.” A strong wind event could occur, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Severe fire weather is partially influenced by dry vegetation. The last time it rained heavily in downtown Los Angeles was on May 5, 2024, when 0.13 inches of rain fell. Since then, there hasn’t been a single calendar day with more than a tenth of an inch of rain in downtown.
Since the start of the water year in October, there have been only five days of measurable rain in downtown Los Angeles: 0.07 inches on November 2nd, 0.03 inches on November 24th, and 0.03 inches on November 23rd. , 0.02 inch on November 26th and Christmas Eve.
This means that only 0.16 inches of rain has fallen since October 1st. This is terrible. The average precipitation during this time is 4.87 inches, which is about one-third of Los Angeles’ average annual precipitation.
Strong wind gusts continue to affect the region Thursday. A 114 mph gust was detected near Agua Dulce at 10:20 a.m. Thursday, and a 110 mph gust was detected near Mount Wilson at 10:53 a.m. Thursday.
Thursday brought fresh wildfire fears. The Kenneth Fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. on the western edge of Woodland Hills, where Victory Boulevard leads into the rolling hills of the Upper Las Bergenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. .
Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, the fire had burned 960 acres of brush by 5:30 p.m. and spread south, officials said. In the Malibu Canyon area north of Highway 101 near Calabasas, the virus was spreading through vacant lots and threatening homes. Firefighters were called to the scene and found water droplets flying through the air. By Thursday night, the Kenneth Fire was 35% contained.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said fire helicopters were working at a rapid pace to douse the blaze with water. This is because air attacks were not an option when the Palisades and Eaton fires were at their worst in growth earlier in the week. Landing of firefighting aircraft.
Los Angeles police took a man into custody on suspicion of arson in Woodland Hills, about eight miles from where the fire started, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman said. Police said they are unable to connect any suspects to the Kenneth fire at this time.
At 4:22 p.m., police received a report of a man trying to start a fire in the 21700 block of Ybarra Road, a spokesperson said.
Farther east, efforts to protect Mount Wilson from the Eaton Fire had been successful, and officials expected that to continue. Mount Wilson, north of the Sierra Madre, is home to the area’s main radio and television transmitters, as well as a historic observatory.
More than 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of looting in the past few days. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna called on the California National Guard to help control traffic and keep people away from the burn area.
The sheriff said his department is working to enforce a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the areas burned by the Palisades and Eaton fires. The city of Santa Monica has already imposed a curfew in some northern areas still affected by the mandatory evacuation order.
Smoke from the fires left unhealthy air over the Los Angeles area. As of late Friday night, air quality was worsening in areas including downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Pasadena and Glendale. It is unhealthy for sensitive populations across parts of the Los Angeles Basin, San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley, according to AirNow.gov.
smoke forecast
0-3 micrograms per cubic meter
3-25
25–63
63-158
158+
January 9th 10pm
January 10th 10am
January 10th 10pm
Officials warned that it could take time for the coroner’s office to identify the dead using dental records and DNA. Crews were searching homes in Altadena and Malibu to recover the charred bodies of those killed in the fire. The body was so badly burned that fingerprints and facial features were missing.
On Thursday, a small drone flying over the Palisades fire collided with a firefighting aircraft called the Super Scooper, a large fixed-wing aircraft that can drop large amounts of water. The plane was damaged but landed safely and the incident will be investigated, officials said. The drone was destroyed in the collision.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it is a federal crime to interfere with firefighting efforts on public land. This crime can carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison. As of Thursday, restrictions on drone flights near wildfires in the Los Angeles area have been extended until Jan. 23.
Hundreds of thousands of Southern Californians remained without power Thursday. Some of the outages were due to wind damage, but many were during planned outages to reduce the risk of new fires starting.
Health officials are advising residents to avoid contact with saltwater throughout coastal Los Angeles County due to the potential for contamination from debris and runoff from firefighting efforts in the area.
The advisory, issued Thursday afternoon, covers ocean and bay waters from Malibu’s Surfrider Beach to World Way’s Dockweiler State Beach and, according to Los Angeles County officials, is “particularly affected by stormwater discharge.” “Near waterways, streams, rivers, and fire-damaged coastal properties.” Public health.
Times staff writers Tony Barboza, Terry Castleman, Hannah Fry, Sean Green, Lorena Yniguez Elleby, Don Lee, Summer Lin, Jasmine Mendez, Luke Money, Coco Nakajima, Matthew Ohmseth, Faith E. Pinho and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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