Southern California is facing another round of dangerous fire weather, as crews struggle to contain wind-driven blazes that have paralysed Los Angeles for nearly a week and killed at least 24 people.
Damaging gusts as high as 121km/h were expected across Los Angeles and Ventura counties overnight into Tuesday, according to an advisory from the US Storm Prediction Center. That will support “extremely critical fire-weather” conditions, the agency said.
High winds may limit opportunities for firefighters to make progress against the Palisades and Eaton fires from the ground and the air. The blazes have scorched nearly 16,187 hectares (40,000 acres) and levelled entire neighbourhoods, from Pacific Palisades on the coast to Altadena at the feet of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Extreme fire conditions are forecast across 7,578sq/km (2,926 sq/m), whipping flames with gusts that are similar to the wind speeds that caused the fires to explode last week.
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“We are not in the clear as of yet, and we must not let our guard down,” Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley said at a press conference on Monday.
The Palisades and Eaton fires, which began on January 7th, are among California’s most destructive blazes on record. Both blazes still remain largely uncontrolled.
State governor Gavin Newsom proposed an additional $2.5 billion of state spending on emergency response efforts and recovery, which would need approval from the Democratic-led state legislature. His office said $1 billion in funding would be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The debris and scarred landscape also set the stage for a future disaster, since any rain that falls in the area threatens to trigger dangerous mudslides. Even as firefighters are battling the blazes, Mr Newsom has called for a plan to clear the area so that rebuilding can begin.
At a White House briefing, president Joe Biden said Congress would need to provide tens of billions of dollars to help the rebuild.
Officials are continuing to hunt for the causes of the fires. Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna said investigators are looking at whether power lines owned by Edison International’s Southern California Edison utility sparked the Eaton Fire, although they are also examining other potential causes.
The utility has already been accused in a lawsuit of starting the blaze. But CEO Pedro Pizarro said on Bloomberg television on Monday that the company’s internal data showed no problems on its power lines in the area at the time the fire erupted.
Evacuated Angelenos whose homes are still standing face threats from burglars looking to take advantage of empty neighbourhoods. Nine people have been charged with looting in the Palisades and Eaton fires, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a press conference Monday.
A man dressed as a firefighter, wearing a fire jacket and helmet, was caught attempting a burglary in the Palisades area, LA County supervisor Lindsey Horvath said at the press conference. “This is despicable,” she said. “We cannot tolerate it.” – Bloomberg