Firefighters have been steadily advancing in their battle against the devastating fires that have ravaged thousands of homes and structures in the area, but residents need to brace for the return of powerful winds that may reignite and disseminate the flames, officials stated Thursday.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley stated that a significant amount of unburned, dry fuel along with low humidity and the anticipated return of the fierce Santa Ana winds next week could result in additional destruction. She advised homeowners to remove all vegetation within 200 feet of their houses.
“Embers from a wildfire can demolish houses more than a mile away,” Crowley said at a briefing on Thursday, She urged residents to give first responders a “fighting chance” to protect homes in case the fires spread.
Mudslides are another issue of concern. Mark Pestrella, the Public Works Director for Los Angeles County, stated that he anticipates “large debris flows” when the rains eventually arrive in the area. The county is rushing to set up flood control measures for the impending surge, he stated.
The fires have turned whole neighborhoods along the Pacific Coast and further inland near the San Gabriel Mountains into ash and debris. A minimum of 27 individuals have lost their lives in the fires, while 31 others remain unaccounted for, and over 12,000 residences, commercial properties, and additional structures have suffered damage or destruction.
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Up to 200,000 individuals were compelled to evacuate their residences during the peak of the fires. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reported Thursday that approximately 82,400 individuals were still under evacuation orders, while an additional 90,400 were dealing with evacuation warnings as of Wednesday.
Prior to this year, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office had issued just four Red Flag Warnings marked as “particularly dangerous situation,” beginning in October 2020. The office subsequently released that important alert two times during the first part of this month.
The Genesis Invitational, scheduled for next month at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades and hosted by Tiger Woods, will take place at another location due to the fires, according to the tour, which did not reveal the new site.
Power outages decreased once more on Thursday as the gradual recovery from the fires persisted. Fewer than 15,000 residences and enterprises in Los Angeles County were powerless, with under 30,000 in San Bernardino County lacking electricity. Outages in Ventura County were fewer than 2,000.
