Southern California was swept by new powerful winds on Monday, creating “critical” weather conditions around Los Angeles, still plagued by destructive fires. Some wind gusts have the power of a hurricane.
Firefighters continue to make progress against the flames, which since January 7 have killed at least 27 people, destroyed nearly 16,000 hectares and devastated certain neighborhoods and suburbs of the American megalopolis. But the danger of a recovery is still not over, due to the return of violent winds.
Some gusts exceeded 140 km/h on Monday, a power comparable to that of a hurricane. Combined with the lack of rain which has dried out the region for eight months, this creates conditions conducive to the spread of the fire.
“We expect this to continue to create extremely critical fire weather conditions throughout the region,” explained Ariel Cohen of the US Weather Service (NWS). “All fires that form can grow explosively, so this is a particularly dangerous situation,” he added.
>> Also see the images from 7:30 p.m.:
Pre-deployed firefighters
Criticized for their management of the disaster, the authorities pre-deployed firefighters and trucks in risk areas.Y
“I think we will be very, very well prepared for the worst possible scenario over the next two days and I hope we don’t get to that,” assured Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
-Donald Trump expected on site
The largest fire, the Palisades Fire, was 59% contained as of Monday, and officials have reduced the extent of affected areas with an evacuation order. The Eaton fire, which notably ravaged the town of Altadena, north of Los Angeles, was 87% contained.
Los Angeles is still assessing the extent of the damage, which will disrupt the lives of thousands of people, well beyond just the victims of the fires. Grieving, the city is also asking a lot of questions about its reconstruction and is seeing political disputes around fire management worsen.
>> Listen again to the La Matinale report:
Donald Trump is expected in California this weekend. His visit will be scrutinized by residents, because the Republican billionaire has in the past threatened to cut federal aid helping California fight fires.
“We are watching fires that have still been burning tragically for weeks without even a gesture of defense,” said the tribune on Monday, during his inauguration speech as the new president of the United States. “We cannot let this happen. Everyone is incapable of doing anything. This will change,” he added, implicitly criticizing the management of this democratic state.
ats/ther
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