Evacuation orders were issued to more than 31,000 people. Enough to test the nerves of residents, at a time when Los Angeles is barely recovering from fires which broke out in early January and disfigured part of the city, killing nearly thirty people.
The spread of this new fire, which broke out on Wednesday, slowed considerably overnight. The fire is 14% contained, according to firefighters.
Rain, “short-term” help
The strong winds that fueled its explosive growth in the early hours are expected to continue Thursday, with gusts reaching 80 km/h, according to Bryan Lewis of the US Weather Service (NWS). The region remains “super dry” and conditions are “still dangerous,” he said. But on Friday, “at the end of the morning or afternoon, the wind should be much better” and decrease according to him.
Southern California has been critically short of precipitation for the past eight months, turning the region into a tinderbox. In this context, the expected rain this weekend will be welcomed with relief. “This will help us in the short term,” said Mr. Lewis. But according to him, other rainy episodes will be necessary “to really get out of this fire season”.
Firefighters are working to create a containment line to control the fire in Castaic.
APU GOMES / AFP
-Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme events, whether storms or droughts.
Beware of mudslides
Hit by fires in the middle of January, Los Angeles is now preparing, with the rain, for possible mudslides and landslides in areas devastated by the fire, filled with charred toxic waste. In Los Angeles County, workers have prepared sandbags, gravel and concrete barriers that can be deployed in the event of heavy rains.
“Without vegetation to anchor the ground, heavy rainfall can lead to sudden and rapid debris flows, which can destroy homes, block roads and pose serious risks to life and property,” California’s governor warned. Gavin Newsom.
The Democrat assured that his services work “in close collaboration” with local partners “to prevent toxic runoff from entering waterways.”
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