With efforts in full swing to contain the California wildfires and weather, wind conditions slowly improving, people are pressed to see the blazes be extinguished.
Los Angeles residents are anxiously awaiting relief as experts predict it will take ‘several more days of hell’ before the raging wildfires are brought under control, as reported by the New York Post.
Southern California continues to battle severe wildfires, with experts indicating that fire will continue for the time being before achieving full control. The Palisades Fire remains at only 17% containment, affecting approximately 24,000 acres—comparable to half of Brooklyn’s area.
Recent weeks have seen over 40,000 acres ablaze in southern California. Whilst the hot, dry winds intensified earlier this week, they weren’t as severe as anticipated.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Heather Zehr told The New York Post, “We’re already seeing some improvement [in the weather]. That has led in large part to why you see such gains in the containment of those fires. You really need to have those winds not working against you.”
“Last week, those winds were so strong that they were out-racing the firefighters,” she noted. The winds have now subsided, and Zehr anticipates significant progress in fire containment this weekend.
“Once the winds calm down they should pretty quickly be able to get control,” Zehr said.
Wind direction will play a crucial role in putting out the fires. Santa Ana winds bring dry desert air, whilst a directional change would introduce moisture from the ocean.
Los Angeles has experienced its second-driest winter, receiving only 0.16 inches of rain. “Normally the rains come around this time, but there has been a very slow start to this. There will be very minimal chances between now and the end of January,” Zehr explained.
Jacob Weigler, Wildlife Coordinator for Central Pierce County, Washington, expects containment “soon.” “Sooner rather than later. They have overwhelming force down there. The Palisades Fire has over 5,000 people fighting it,” he told The Post.
According to CalFire reports, the Eaton, Palisades and Hurst fires haven’t expanded since Sunday. However, complete extinguishment could take longer.
Weigler noted, “The overall size of that fire is not tremendously large. We have fires larger than that all the time. But the impact and location is extreme. We could see a month of forces committed there, ensuring that it’s fully extinguished.”
Urban firefighting presents unique challenges compared to forest fires. Instead of creating firebreaks through vegetation clearance, urban firefighters must utilise existing infrastructure like roads, rivers, and drainage canals as anchor points to establish containment perimeters.
The Southern Californian region, bracing for extremely critical conditions as the wildfires continue to devastate the region for a week, has already destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 25 people.
