Weather conditions in LA improve, giving firefighters respite

LOS ANGELES: Wind gusts and dry conditions will linger throughout the day today in Los Angeles where firefighters hope to gain on their momentum against two major wildfires that have ravaged everything in their path.

Red flag warnings advising of extreme wildfire danger expired across the Los Angeles area late yesterday but one remained for an area east of the metro area, where winds were expected to be 25-40kph with gusts to 64kph, the national weather service said.

“The winds are expected to switch to a more onshore flow late today and into tomorrow, bringing higher relative humidities and less chaotic wind flow, thus helping to mitigate the wildfire threat compared to recent days,” the service said.

The national weather service added that the respite for fire-ravaged Los Angeles will be short, with high chances of renewed red flag warnings – when ideal fire conditions of high winds and low humidity dominate – starting again on Sunday.

The fires that have raged across Los Angeles for the last week and a half have consumed an area nearly the size of Washington, DC, resulting in at least 25 deaths so far, authorities said.

The fires have damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other structures, and forced as many as 200,000 people from their homes.

Some 82,400 people were under evacuation orders and another 90,400 faced evacuation warnings as of yesterday, county sheriff Robert Luna said.

Entire neighbourhoods have been levelled, leaving smouldering ash and rubble.

Many homes only have a chimney stack left standing.

Some 8,500 firefighters from the western US, Canada and Mexico have kept the growth of the fires in check for three days.

The Palisades Fire on the west edge of the city held steady at 96sq km burned, and containment nudged up to 21% – a measurement of how much of the perimeter was under control.

The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the city stood at 57sq km with containment at 45%.

A fleet of air tankers and helicopters dropped water and fire retardant into the rugged hills while ground crews with hand tools and hoses worked to contain the fires.

Hundreds of visiting firefighters and emergency workers are staying outside the Rose Bowl football stadium, a base camp where colleagues build camaraderie in between shifts of 24 hours on followed by 24 hours off.

A new fire broke out yesterday in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles, burning 14 hectares, Cal Fire reported.

Two other fires in Southern California were largely under control.