Five people have died, thousands have been evacuated, scores of homes got burnt down and hundreds of firefighters are engaged in operation to douse the blazes that in United States’ Los Angeles, the city in California that is home to country’s film and television industry.
Many of the raging fires started Tuesday, fueled by strong ‘Santa Ana’ winds that were of the strength of a hurricane, gusting over 70 mph (112 kph) in some areas. The winds continued on Wednesday, making it too risky for aircraft to fight the fires from the air, delaying efforts. Aerial firefighting resumed Wednesday morning and has since then been going on to dose the flames that have already burnt down hundreds of structures, including houses of celebrities like Paris Hilton, Mandy Moore. Follow Los Angeles wildfires LIVE updates
Plush Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, Pasadena and Altadena are among the areas majorly affected by the wildfires, some of which house celebrity residences.
Why are the LA wildfires so bad?
With an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed and the fire still active, the Pacific Palisades fire is by far the city’s most destructive in modern history, topping the Sayre fire in 2008 that destroyed just over 600 structures, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, a partnership between the city’s fire department and MySafe:LA.
Structures here refer to houses and other buildings.
California has a long history of wildfires sparked by power lines in high winds. However, the blazes in Los Angeles are the first disaster to have impacted so many lives across the city at once since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake
Santa Ana winds, a major factor behind some of the worst wildfires in Los Angeles, are dry, warm, and gusty winds that blow from the desert interior of Southern California toward the coast, opposite the usual flow of moist air from the Pacific. These winds form when high pressure over the Great Basin forces air to descend toward Southern California. As it moves through mountain passes and canyons, the air speeds up, becoming both drier and warmer.
The danger of these winds lies in their ability to dry out vegetation, causing humidity levels to drop to single digits. This makes both living and dead plants highly susceptible to ignition. With their extreme gusts, even a small spark—such as one from a fallen power line—can quickly turn into a rapidly spreading wildfire.
Santa Ana winds are often linked to some of the most destructive fires in Southern California history.
The winds is said to have got their name from the Santa Ana Cnyon in Orange County, however, other theories persist, along with other nicknames such as “devil winds.”
Dry Santa Ana winds will continue to whip down from the mountains through Friday, a Bloombeg report quoted as saying Nick Nauslar, fire science and operations officer for the US Storm Prediction Center.
Weather phenomenon such as Santa Ana winds become even more dangerous given the rising temperatures, reduced rainfall, drought conditions and the wildland-urban interface in southern California.
California has been experiencing persistent droughts, which have dried out the soil and vegetation, creating more fuel for wildfires.
Moreover, the spread of houses and infrastructure into fire-prone areas, known as the “wildland-urban interface,” makes it harder to contain fires and increases the risk to human life and property.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times.
