how to explain the violence of the fires affecting Los Angeles in the United States?

Recap
The ferocious fires ravaging part of California are reinforced by dry and windy weather. Experts also highlight the human and urban planning factors in this disaster.

California has been plagued by massive fires for several days and Los Angeles is increasingly threatened by flames. At least five people have died, more than a thousand buildings have been destroyed by the flames and at least 100,000 people have had to flee because of the fires surrounding the city of Angels.

If large winter fires are rare in California – the disaster database of the Belgian University of Louvain has only recorded two since 2000 – how can we explain their violence?

• A particularly dry start to winter

The first explanation behind the violence of these fires is meteorological. The Santa Ana winds currently blowing are a classic of California’s autumns and winters. But this week, they reached an intensity not seen since 2011. The gusts, which blew up to 160 km/h on Wednesday, sometimes carry embers for kilometers.

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In addition to the winds, meteorologist Daniel Swain points out in particular to AFP “the lack of rain and the abnormal heat and drought for six months” to explain these incidents. “ California experiences driest start to winter on record adds the expert. From July 1 to January 5, only four millimeters of water fell on central Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is swept by “hurricane-force winds combined with extreme drought conditions”summarized Mayor Karen Bass during a press briefing Wednesday evening. A real nightmare for firefighters, because California is coming out of two very rainy years which created lush vegetation, now dried out by an abnormally dry winter.

• Lack of firefighters

If more than 250 firefighters are currently mobilized, according to the count of Kristin Crowley, Los Angeles fire chief, logistical problems are pointed out by the emergency services. “We don’t have enough firefighters in Los Angeles County to deal with this situation”lamented Anthony Marrone, the Los Angeles County fire chief.

“More than 7,500” firefighters, sometimes from other American states, lead the fight against these “Unprecedented fires in Los Angeles”the governor of California said Wednesday evening.

A recent report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) concludes that the number of severe fires will increase by 14% by 2030, 30% by 2050 and 50% by the end of the 21st century. but experts also point to human factors in the Californian fires.

In terms of water management, Californians were urged by authorities to save water, as three reservoirs supplying fire hydrants were emptied by the fight against the flames in Pacific Palisades.

President-elect Donald Trump spread false information on his Truth Social network, claiming that California is running out of water because of Democratic environmental policies that would divert rainwater to protect a “useless fish”. In reality, most of the water used by Los Angeles comes from the Colorado River, and is primarily used by the agricultural industry.

• Urban sprawl in question

While tens of thousands of residents fled the flames, controversies arose over the urban sprawl of the second most populous city in the United States and the management of the surrounding forests. For certain ecologists and urban planners, urbanization choices favor the spread of these fires.

In the state of California, the increase in population and the surge in real estate prices in urban centers has contributed to the expansion of construction in the wilderness, in canyons or near forests, where the risks of fires are more important. By 2050, a million new homes could be built in areas where fire risks are very high.

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The management of forest areas is also scrutinized. California burns in a controlled manner more than 50,000 hectares of natural space per year but no one knows if this is enough and conflicts are legion between federal and local legislation and landowners.

The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, judges that “These fires are easily preventable” more than “absurd regulations in California prevent action”. When Donald Trump attacks Governor Newsom, ” responsible “ of this “real disaster”.