1 of 3 | The Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates is pictured reduced to rubble by four Southern California wildfires in Los Angeles County along the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles on January 9. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
License PhotoJan. 19 (UPI) — Two major fires are still uncontained in the Los Angeles area with red flag warnings issued for Monday, meaning powerful Santa Ana winds will make conditions hard for crews to get a handle on what are already the most devastating wildfires in the state’s history.
“This is now a strong Santa Ana wind event and extreme fire weather,” said Rose Schoenfeld, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. He said conditions are expected to be worse than earlier forecast.
Wind gusts could top 90 m.p.h. That, combined with plummeting relative humidity levels, will draw any remaining moisture out of remaining vegetation, creating prime conditions for more quick spreading, ravaging fires.
Schoenfeld said “this is a time to act, yet again.” The state made emergency resources available online for people facing the threat of yet more fire danger.
As of 7 a.m. PST Sunday, the Palisades fire, responsible for as many as 10 deaths and the destruction of 4,996 structures, was 52% contained. It has burned 23,713 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Eaton fire, which was one of the first to erupt on January 7, has officially claimed the lives of at least 17 people and destroyed 9,366 structures. It was 81-percent contained as of 7 a.m. PST Sunday morning. It has scorched 14,117 acres, the L.A. Times reported.
There are at least 27 people missing between the two fires, officials reported, and the number of deaths, destroyed structures and people missing is expected to rise.
There remains a patchwork of evacuation orders in place in and around Los Angeles and its suburbs as fires continue to threaten some areas, and other places remain evacuated as hazardous materials and safety teams inspect to determine if the some neighborhoods are secure enough for residents to return during daylight hours, or even to visit homes that are still standing.
The number of people who remain under evacuation order has dropped from over 82,000 to about 39,000 as of Sunday morning, the New York Times reported.
A red flag warning is issued when weather conditions mean any new fire could spread rapidly. This one will cover large parts of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, different areas than those affected when the fires first erupted on Jan. 7.
That includes areas that have already been devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Officials warned people in threatened areas to take precautions, creating “defensible spaces” around their homes by clearing overgrown brush and keeping flammable objects away from vulnerable structures.
The red flag warning will go into effect Monday at 10 a.m. PST and last through at least 10 p.m. Tuesday, the NWS said.
