Southern California braced for ‘extremely difficult fire conditions’ as life threatening winds pick up pace
The time is 5am in Los Angeles, 8am in New York and 1pm in London. Here is the latest situation
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Southern California is braced for “extremely critical fire conditions” as strong Santa Ana winds are forecast and are expected to cause new wildfires and set back recent progress to tackle the blazes.
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Firefighters in Los Angeles expect a difficult and treacherous day amid dangerous winds and the threat of fire spread.
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A Red Flag weather warning is in place with winds of up to 70mph forecast.
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The Eaton Fire is at 14,117 acres and 33% contained. The Pacific Palisades Fire is at 23,713 acres and 14% contained The Hurst Fire is at 799 acres and 97% contained, according to latest updates from Cal Fire.
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Thousands of homes have been destroyed and at least 24 people have been killed. The death toll is expected to rise.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials are confident they are ready to face the new threat of fires sparked into life by stronger winds. “We’re absolutely better prepared,” LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
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Just under 100,000 people in Los Angeles County remain under evacuation orders, half the number from last week.
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AccuWeather has estimated the fires could be the costliest ever seen in the US. It has made an early estimation that the total costs could top $250bn (€243bn, £205bn)
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Dozens of water trucks were in place to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week.
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LA County’s fire chief says crews are better prepared but warns that everyone in the potential fire zones should be ready to evacuate.
I’m handing over to my colleague Anna Betts in New York. Thanks for reading.
Key events
Raphael Boyd
Musician Madlib is reported to have lost his extensive record collection as well as much of his equipment and his home in the California wildfires, in what is being described as an immense loss for music.
The celebrated hip hop producer, who has worked with some of the most prominent names in rap such as Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg in his decades long career, is among the tens of thousands affected by the fires, which have swept across the US state and killed at least 24 people.
Madlib is perhaps best known as a frequent collaborator of the late MF DOOM, with whom is produced the critically acclaimed Madvillain, as well as regularly working with other prominent artists such as Freddie Gibbs, J Dilla and Erykah Badu.
His record collection, which he is understood to have amassed over the past 30 years and included music from all around the world, acted as the backbone of much of his work through sampling.
An online fundraiser, shared by fellow producers such as Flying Lotus, has been set up for Madlib and his family.
The National Weather Service warns that, although peak winds today and tomorrow will be weaker than those experienced last week, the combination of offshore winds ranging from 20 to 40 mph with higher gusts and low relative humidity, could lead to rapid fire growth and a potential for extreme fire behavior.
Extreme conditions may develop later this morning, the service said, as winds strengthen. Critical conditions will likely continue into Wednesday, before winds generally weaken by Wednesday evening.
Just before 8 am ET, the National Weather Service recorded wind gusts measuring between 60 and 70 mph in parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Specifically, gusts of 72 mph were reported at Magic Mountain Truck Trail, 60 mph at Sandstone Peak, 58 mph along the N3 Highway, and 56 mph at Julians Ridge.
High wind warnings are in effect until Noon local time on Wednesday for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The National Weather Service also said that extremely critical fire weather conditions will persist across coastal Southern California through at least Tuesday, with localized wind gusts reaching nearly 70 mph primarily affecting Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Southern California braced for ‘extremely difficult fire conditions’ as life threatening winds pick up pace
The time is 5am in Los Angeles, 8am in New York and 1pm in London. Here is the latest situation
-
Southern California is braced for “extremely critical fire conditions” as strong Santa Ana winds are forecast and are expected to cause new wildfires and set back recent progress to tackle the blazes.
-
Firefighters in Los Angeles expect a difficult and treacherous day amid dangerous winds and the threat of fire spread.
-
A Red Flag weather warning is in place with winds of up to 70mph forecast.
-
The Eaton Fire is at 14,117 acres and 33% contained. The Pacific Palisades Fire is at 23,713 acres and 14% contained The Hurst Fire is at 799 acres and 97% contained, according to latest updates from Cal Fire.
-
Thousands of homes have been destroyed and at least 24 people have been killed. The death toll is expected to rise.
-
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials are confident they are ready to face the new threat of fires sparked into life by stronger winds. “We’re absolutely better prepared,” LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
-
Just under 100,000 people in Los Angeles County remain under evacuation orders, half the number from last week.
-
AccuWeather has estimated the fires could be the costliest ever seen in the US. It has made an early estimation that the total costs could top $250bn (€243bn, £205bn)
-
Dozens of water trucks were in place to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week.
-
LA County’s fire chief says crews are better prepared but warns that everyone in the potential fire zones should be ready to evacuate.
I’m handing over to my colleague Anna Betts in New York. Thanks for reading.
While authorities don’t know what sparked the deadly fires in the Los Angeles area, they do know that embers have helped spread the flames. Experts say most homes destroyed by wildfires aren’t overcome by a racing wall of flames, but burn after being ignited by airborne embers, also called firebrands. The Associated Press has looked into the phenomenon and how it has affected the fires in Los Angeles.
An ember is a piece of burning debris. Once it becomes airborne, the more technical term is firebrand, said James Urban, an assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They can range in size from tiny specks to larger chunks.
While many people might have seen stray embers rise from a campfire and even had one land on them, the embers involved in wildfires are drastically different, said Anne Cope, chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.
“Those embers can travel for miles, and it’s often the neighborhoods that are closer to the wildlands that get inundated with just loads and loads — just showered with embers,” she said.
Wind allows embers to burn harder and release more energy, becoming a more potent ignition source, Urban said. The firebrands then accumulate and sort of work together, gathering between the slats of wood fences or in shrubbery and igniting new fires.
A single ember that lands on the ground might burn out within minutes but can also smolder, Urban said. “And then a sudden change of conditions like wind gusts ignite flames and cause a lot of destruction,” he said.
The US National Weather Service has put in place a Red Flag weather warning across south-west California.
A Red Flag Warning means warm temperatures, very low humidities, and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger.
There are Particularly Dangerous Situation warnings colored with a purple outline (see map below). These are rare warnings aimed at seizing attention.
The PDS warning is in place from 4am Pacific Time until noon on Wednesday due to damaging north-east to east winds and low humidities in certain areas.
Red Flag warnings will be in effect for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Wednesday.
California homeowners and business owners who lost everything in the devastating Los Angeles-area fires now have to tackle their insurance companies to recover the value of their homeowners’ policies – if they are lucky enough to have insurance at all.
With estimates of the economic damage from the fires now reaching over $200bn, we’d like to hear what financial consequences people face due to the fires.
Those who have lost their homes or businesses may face the question of whether they want to or can stay in LA due to financial consequences of the disaster: price gouging for rental properties in the city, outstanding mortgages for homes that have been lost, destroyed communities or unaffordable insurance premiums – we’d like to hear how people have been or may be financially affected by the fires.
Gabrielle Canon
Gabrielle Canon is climate reporter and extreme weather correspondent for Guardian US. She has been reporting on the network of volunteers rescuing animals and pets from the fires:
In the rural enclaves tucked close to the canyons most prime to burn, scores of animals – horses, goats, pigs, chickens, and even emus among them – were in danger as the fast-moving fires swept closer. Some had been left behind during chaotic evacuations. Others required large trailers or a gentle hand to calmly coax them through the terror caused by howling winds, ashen air and the very strangers desperately trying to get them to safety. A network of volunteers was preparing to descend on the fire zones, ready to risk it all to save pets and livestock in need.
These strangers had quickly stepped up to answer calls for help. Mobilizing through social media pages or elaborate phone trees, they worked through the nights, driving into burning hillsides and through scorched wreckage. For some, it’s not the first time they’ve gone willingly into the fray.
Reporters from the Associated Press have been speaking to residents in Los Angeles who have are under threat of being forced to evacuate from the fires.
Tabitha Trosen and her boyfriend feel like they are “teetering” on the edge with the constant fear that their neighborhood could be the next under threat.
“Our cats are ready to go, we have their carriers by the door prepped with their little stuffed animals and things like that,” Trosen said, adding that she’s packed things as she thinks about what she could lose. “It’s like, how do I take care of myself, and what are the things that will ground me as a human and remind me of my background and my life and my family.”
Another, Tim Kang of La Crescenta, evacuated last week after feeling sick from the smoky air and being fearful of nearby fires spreading. “Everything just felt like, ‘Oh man, the world’s ending,’” said Kang.
Jim Orlandini, who lost his hardware store in Altadena, a hard-hit neighborhood next to Pasadena, said his home of 40 years survived.
“The whole time I was thinking, I don’t know what I’m going to find when I get back here and after 40 years, you know, you got a lot of stuff you forget about that would disappear if the house burned down. So we’re thankful that it didn’t.”
Photographers have been capturing images of devastation across the Los Angeles area as fires have ravaged through the region. Here is a selection.
AccuWeather, a US commercial weather forecasting service, has estimated the fires could be the costliest ever seen in the US. It has made an early estimation that the total costs could top $250bn (€243bn, £205bn).
The reconstruction cost for commercial and residential properties inside areas with active fires could be $14.8bn (€14.42bn, £12.14bn), according to real estate data tracker CoreLogic.
Just under 100,000 people in Los Angeles County remain under evacuation orders, half the number from last week. However, LA city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has urged people to stay away from burned neighborhoods filled with broken gas lines and unstable buildings.
Fire officials have also advised residents in high-risk areas to just leave home – and not wait for formal evacuation orders – if they sense danger.
Dozens of people have been arrested for looting. Officials are also beginning to see price gouging and scams, including with hotels and short-term rentals and medical supplies, said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
The death toll from the fires stands at 24 however that figure is expected to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday. At least two dozen people remain missing, he said.
In a report from the Associated Press, Luna said he understands that people are eager to return to their homes and neighborhoods to survey the damage, but he asked for their patience. “We have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors,” he said.
At a Monday evening community meeting about the Palisades Fire, a Los Angeles Police Department official said many people reported as missing had been found. It wasn’t clear if there was overlap in the numbers shared by the sheriff.
Red Flag weather warning issued with significant risk of rapid fire spread and life-threatening winds
The US National Weather Service has warned the weather will be “particularly dangerous” on Tuesday, when wind gusts could reach 65 mph (105 kph). A large part of Southern California around Los Angeles is under this extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, including densely populated Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.
The winds are predicted to pick up starting early Tuesday and continue through midday Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. They are not expected to reach hurricane-force like last week, but they could ground firefighting aircraft, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said, warning if winds reach 70 mph (112 kph), “it’s going to be very difficult to contain that fire.”
Firefighters ‘better prepared’ to face threat of fierce new winds, officials say
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials — who have faced criticism over their initial response to fires that began last week — are confident that the region is ready to face the new threat of fires sparked into life by stronger winds with additional firefighters brought in from around the US, as well as Canada and Mexico.
“We’re absolutely better prepared,” LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said when asked what will be different from a week ago, when hurricane-force winds propelled multiple fires across the parched, brush-filled region that hasn’t seen rain in more than eight months.
Additional water tankers and scores of firefighters have arrived at the Los Angeles area ahead of fierce winds that were forecast to return and threaten the progress made so far on two massive infernos that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires. Multiple fires continue to rage in southern California nearly a week after the deadly and destructive blazes began.
Southern California is braced for “extremely critical fire conditions” as strong Santa Ana winds are forecast and are expected to cause new wildfires and set back recent progress to tackle the blazes.
The area faces a critical fire warning through Wednesday with warning from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection saying there is “significant risk of rapid fire spread due to life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity”.
A growing force of firefighters and equipment has been positioned in Los Angeles ready to tackle any flare ups, with water trucks in place to replenish supplies.
President Joe Biden has called on Congress to ‘step up’ funding for those affected. Holding a briefing with federal officials at the White House on Monday, Biden said the federal government is covering most costs associated with the fires for the next 180 days, but that Congress will need to cover additional costs to rebuild Los Angeles.
Here is the latest on the evolving situation.
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Three wildfires are currently burning in Los Angeles county. They are:
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The Palisades fire, at 23,713 acres and 14% containment.
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The Eaton fire, at 14,117 acres and 33% containment.
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The Hurst fire, at 799 acres and 97% containment.
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At least 24 people have died, and relatives have begun identifying their loved ones as they return to their homes or are notified by local officials. The fires have destroyed more than 12,000 structures and may be the costliest disaster in US history, according to initial estimates of damage and economic losses exceeding $250bn from AccuWeather.
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With fire weather expected to continue in the Los Angeles area through Wednesday, state and city officials have pre-deployed firefighters across LA and surrounding counties.
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House speaker Mike Johnson said he believes there should be conditions on disaster aid to California, citing “state and local leaders [who] were derelict in their duties”.
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Donald Trump is in talks to visit Los Angeles to survey the damage wrought by wildfires over the past week, CNN reported. The visit could occur as early as next week, but no details have been finalized.
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Altadena residents have filed three lawsuits against Southern California Edison, alleging that the utility is responsible for the Eaton fire. The lawsuits cite evidence that the fire began under a transmission tower and reference the utility’s role in other wildfires. However, no official cause for the fire has yet been determined.
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California governor Gavin Newsom has called on the state’s legislature to approve $2.5bn in additional funding to aid “response and initial recovery efforts for Los Angeles”. To do so, the governor expanded the special legislative session he’d called for the state in November, designed to prepare for Donald Trump’s inauguration.
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The firefighting plane that was grounded after sustaining damage from a drone has been repaired and will return to firefighting duty Tuesday, pending FAA approval, said LA county fire chief Anthony Marrone.
