The Los Angeles Fire Department is Bringing a “Surprising Look at the Emergency Management Agency’s Response” to the Northern California Wildfires
The National Weather Service (NWS) said a critical risk of fire remained in the area, as high winds, dry vegetation and low humidity are contributing to the infernos.
“My Administration will do everything it can to support the response,” he said. “I urge the residents of the Pacific Palisades and the surrounding areas of Los Angeles to stay vigilant and listen to local officials.”
He said Tuesday that California had secured a federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which will reimburse up to 75% of eligible costs authorities have taken on to suppress the fires.
This week’s wildfires have been fueled by Santa Ana winds, dry, gusty winds that blow toward the coast. They are relatively common in the region, but not at this strength.
More than 200,000 customers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were without power early Wednesday morning. Fighting authorities turn off power lines if a line is downed and sparks spread to flames.
The Los Angeles Times reports that there were two schools that were engulfed in flames and the playing fields of one of them. The latter school “is currently not in session,” the district said.
Five Los Angeles schools will be closed on Wednesday and a sixth has temporarily relocated and joined another. The district said it is waiting to make a decision about whether to close the impacted schools Thursday.
Los Angeles Firefighters During the Rose Parade: The Eaton and Hurst Forests in the wake of the Eaton Fires
“This time of year is usually not fire season, but we disabuse of that notion now,” California Gov. Feinstein said in the video.
The fire poses an “immediate threat to life” and the order to evacuate mandates people with pets and livestock to leave, while the other option is for people with less time to flee to do so.
The Eaton and Hurst fires both started later Tuesday, with the Eaton fire first reported at about 10:30 p.m. local time, also in Los Angeles County. The L.A. Fire Department issued an evacuation order late Tuesday night after a fire in the Sylmar neighborhood near Los Angeles.
Residents and officials were anxious over what the conditions will be as Wednesday breaks came with the forecast for high winds and fires.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said more than 7,500 personnel are responding to the fires across local, state and federal agencies. They are using a lot of equipment to fight the fires.
“We just finished cleaning up from the Rose Parade of all things, and now this,” she said. We had a big thing showing how wonderful life is here and then we showed how bad life can be.
Cheryl Heuton and her husband left their home in Pasadena with just toothbrushes, laptops and old stuffed animals that belonged to their children when they were younger.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office: The Sunset Fire Activated Under a Prominent, Life-threatening, Destructive Santa Ana Wind
Only two fires have been somewhat contained — Lidia (40%) and Woodley (100%) — according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection — Cal Fire.
The Sunset fire broke out Wednesday night, encroaching on the Hollywood Hills and prompting mandatory evacuations in notable parts of the area, such as Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Boulevard and Runyon Canyon Park. The Los Angeles Fire Department stated that most of the evacuated area was lifted by Thursday morning.
Nearly 30,000 acres remained burning early Thursday across Los Angeles County as firefighters struggled to control a patchwork of deadly blazes that has forced mass evacuations and leveled entire communities.
A wind advisory will remain in effect until at least 2 p.m. PT on Friday. The NWS advises residents to stay at least 100 feet away from downed power lines and call 911.
We get a powerful Santa Ana wind event every now and again, but this time it was a widespread, life threatening anddestructive windstorm, which took place over the past 24 to 36 hours.
“The typical strengths of the winds are on the order of, say, 30 to 60 mph when they occur, a couple times a year,” Ariel Cohen, chief meteorologist for the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard, told NPR’s Morning Edition.
Winds have gradually weakened since their peak earlier Wednesday, when the NWS recorded speeds as high as 90 mph in Henninger Flats and 89 mph at Saddle Peak.
“The confluence of factors — wind, fire and smoke — have created dangerous, complex situations that present unsafe conditions for our school communities,” the district said.
State of the Art: Secretary of State Reconstruction and Response to a World Widening Fire. Is President Biden Ready to Hit the Ground?
On Wednesday, President Biden made a major disaster declaration, which provides federal funding to affected residents, by way of “grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.”
We are with you in Southern California. And we’re not letting up,” said the president, who on Wednesday canceled a planned trip to Italy to focus on the fire response.