Death Toll Attributed to Fires Now at Two Dozen in Southern California
Alexis Thornton
18 hours agoThe death toll is now at two dozen in Southern California despite fire crews getting a better handle on the wildfires over the weekend. Here is the latest on this dire situation.
Death Toll Continues to Rise in Southern California
The winds eased over the weekend across Southern California, giving a boost to firefighters working to get the fires under control before the next wave of Santa Ana winds whip up this week. As of the end of the weekend update, there have been at least 24 confirmed fatalities blamed on the fires. The damage assessment also includes over 12,000 structures destroyed by the fires. The coastal Palisades Fire is responsible for the destruction of about 5,300 of these structures.
According to the Sunday afternoon update out of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner office, eight of the deaths came from the Palisades Fire while 16 fatalities were the result of the Eaton Fire. Authorities continue to caution that the death toll is expected to climb as cadaver dogs go through the rubble. It could take some time for investigators to safely get into the destroyed neighborhoods. Local officials are encouraging residents to list missing loved ones to a newly designated reporting center.
Cal Fire reported on Sunday morning that the Eaton, Palisades, Kenneth, and Hurst fires have scorched about 62 square miles in total. This translates to an area larger than the city of San Francisco. Of the four major fires, the Palisades and the Eaton blazes have accounted for the loss of 59 square miles.
There were still about 150,000 people under evacuation orders late Saturday. Shelters have been set up to provide assistance to those in need. In addition, fire crews from nine other states and Mexico have arrived on the scene to lend a hand to California firefighters. In total, there are about 14,000 personnel using over 1,350 fire engines and 84 aircraft working all through the night to gain the upper hand on the fires.
Approximately 60,000 customers were still without power as of midday Sunday. Southern California's Edison energy provider said that over 400,000 residents are in danger of having their power shut off intentionally in order to prevent previously damaged infrastructure from starting new fires.
As of the late Sunday Cal Fire update, the Palisades Fire has burned over 23,700 acres and is 13% contained. Located farther inland, the Eaton Fire is 27% contained after having burned over 14,100 acres. The smaller Hurst Fire is now nearly 90% contained after scoring nearly 800 acres.
Looting is also becoming a problem in the areas impacted by the fires. Los Angeles police have made seven arrests over the past two days connected to alleged looting happening in mandatory evacuation zones. Capt. Mike Lorenz said that two of the people arrested were posing as firefighters.
Winds Forecast to Increase Beginning Monday
Fire crews are racing against the clock to make progress on containing the fires before the next round of winds pick up on Monday. Forecasters are predicting that a trough that has been developing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California will pair with an area of high pressure positioned over the western U.S. to fuel another round of offshore winds beginning on Monday and lasting through Wednesday.
Another storm swirling off the Pacific coastline will dictate the strength of these winds in the coming days. There is a chance that these winds could exceed the Santa Ana wind event that whipped up last week and started the fires. The current forecast models indicate that wind gusts could approach the 80 mph mark across communities such as Santa Clarita and Ventura. The highest winds will likely sweep across the higher terrains surrounding the Los Angeles basin.
In addition to presenting a risk of new fires, another wind event could also spread the flames of the existing fires. The forecast is predicting that the winds will move from the northeast-to-east direction.
Red flag warnings are expected to remain in effect for Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange counties until Wednesday. Some portions of San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties are also under these warnings.
The winds will not be the only problem. Humidity levels will also remain low, hovering below 20% to 30% during the early part of the week throughout the majority of Southern California.
It has been exceptionally dry for this part of the Golden State. A lack of moisture has dried out the vegetation, delivering tinder for the smallest spark to take root and spread.
The long-range forecast does not look promising for precipitation chances for Southern California and over into the Desert Southwest and parts of the south-central U.S. All of these regions are predicted to land well below the historical norm for moisture through the end of January. As a result, forecasters are warning that threat of wildfires will remain elevated in this part of the country for weeks to come.
The silver lining in the forecast this week for Southern California is that a change in the direction of the winds by the middle of the week may work to bring in more humidity. Even a slight uptick in humidity levels could provide assistance to crews on the scene of the wildfires.
Temperatures are also expected to dip a bit by the end of the week in Southern California. When it comes to fighting these fires, the crews will take any help that they can get from Mother Nature.
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