1 of 4 | California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks on wildfire preparedness and resilience in San Bernardino, California, in 2022. The U.S. Forest Service targeted millions of acres of grasslands and forests for prescribed burns and thinning to fight escalating wildfire risk across the United States. File photo by Eric Thayer/UPI |
License PhotoJan. 23 (UPI) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an order Thursday making $2.5 billion available for response and recovery efforts as fire weary residents brace for yet more threats as Santa Ana winds fan the flames of another blaze, this one threatening 14,000 structures.
The money will be used to aid in ongoing evacuation efforts, shelter fire survivors and remove hazardous waste from households that have been affected by the fires.
California lawmakers also approved $4 million for local governments to streamline the approval process for rebuilding homes, and $1 million to help school districts rebuild facilities.
“We need to be able to move with urgency, put aside our differences and be laser-focused on delivering the financial resources, delivering the boots on the ground that are needed and the policy relief that is needed to get neighborhoods cleaned up and communities rebuilt,” said Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg in a social media post.
Two of the largest and most devastating fires have killed at least 28 people, the state has reported, a number officials have said will likely rise but could have been dramatically higher given the scope and devastation of the fast spreading blazes, fanned beyond control by seasonal Santa Ana winds that topped 100 mph in the first few days.
The Eaton Fire is responsible for at least 17 deaths the state reported, and the Palisades Fire killed at least 11 more.
The Hughes fire, which began Wednesday, has already burned more than 10,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
That fire was 24% contained Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department told CNN.
“They put a lot of work in and did an incredible job really knocking the heat out of this fire,” the county fire department spokesperson Kelliher Berkoh told CNN. “And those winds definitely laid down a bit, which helped us get the upper hand on this fire.”
The Hughes Fire is burning near the unincorporated community of Castaic, which is close to Santa Clarita, and threatening at least 14,000 structures, the Los Angeles County’s Coordinated Joint Information Center said.
The blaze prompted the evacuation of more than 31,000 residents, and 23,000 more were facing the threat of being forced to leave their homes.
The Sepulveda and Laguna Fires are also scorching dry vegetation, although doing lesser damage. The Sepulveda Fire, which started overnight Wednesday along the 405 freeway near Getty Center museum complex in Los Angeles, was contained at 45 acres.
Evacuation orders for the Sepulveda Fire were lifted as of 2:30 a.m. PST.
Hundreds of firefighters continued to battle the flames Thursday and could get some help as light rain is forecast for Friday and early Saturday, presaging a shift in California’s weather pattern that has left the state vulnerable to the ravaging fires, according to the National Weather Service.
“Obviously it’s going to be very welcome to get some sort of moisture here,” Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the NWS in Oxnard said. “In terms of ending the fire season, it’s probably not going to be enough for that. But it’ll certainly help a little bit.”
The state has been under a red flag warning for 4 consecutive days, which are issued when low humidity levels, warm temperatures and strong winds combine to create an increased wildfire risk.
The fire ravaged areas face a double edged sword with the rain; officials say they need enough to help extinguish the flames, but too much could cause mudslides on Earth left ravaged and exposed by the fires.
In preparation for the rain, while predicted to be light, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Brown issued an executive order on Tuesday to keep burn areas in check and reduce the threat of toxic chemical leaks.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to tour fire ravaged parts of California Friday.
