What’s next for the Los Angeles wildfire crisis

Several wildfires burning in Southern California could spread further before they are contained, based on troubling forecasts of stronger winds early this week.

Forest fires forced tens of thousands to evacuate Los Angeles last week. The flames are supercharged due to extremely dry ground conditions and strong winds from the northeast, which caused the inferno to spread rapidly in a densely populated area. Some of the strongest wind gusts that fueled the spread of the fires last week were moving at around 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour). The latest weather reports indicate that conditions will remain extremely favorable for wildfire spread through at least the middle of the week.

According to the National Weather Service warningweather conditions in the area “will again bring strong gusts to typically favored areas in coastal southern California today with peak winds between 40-50 mph (64 to 80 km/h).”

“Conditions are expected to worsen for these locations through Tuesday morning as wind gusts near 70 mph (113 km/h) are possible,” the warning added.

Taken in tandem with low humidity across the region and a lack of recent rain, conditions are ripe for wildfires. NWS issued Red Flag Special Hazard Warning for Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in effect from Monday evening until Wednesday morning.

A red flag warning “means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now … or will occur soon,” according to the NWS. “The combination of strong winds…low relative humidity…and high temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.”

According to Cal Firethere are currently 105 wildfires larger than 10 acres burning across the state. The largest fires so far are the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County, which have burned 23,713 acres and 14,117 acres, respectively. The Palisades Fire is currently 14% contained and the Eaton Fire is 33% contained. The Hearst Fire, an 800-acre fire also in Los Angeles County, is 89 percent contained. All fires started on January 7.

In total, the current wildfires in California have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed 12,300 buildings and killed 13 people, Cal Fire reports, although The New York Times has deaths are 24 and counting.

Not a great start to the year, especially considering that wildfire season usually runs from May to November. While 40,000 acres isn’t much compared to the one million acres California burned last year, we’re not even two weeks into January. Furthermore, the location of ongoing fires makes them particularly dangerous; The 8,000 wildfires that broke out last year caused just one death and damaged or destroyed 2,148 buildings – far fewer than this year.

The origin of the fires is still being investigated. Forest fires have many sources, from human activity to electrocuted birds bursting into flames (seriously).

there is several important steps you can take if you are in an area that may be prone to wildfires. If you want to help with wildfire recovery, you can find Los Angeles County resources website.