Southern California was bracing for more dangerous winds on Tuesday as new wildfires broke out across the region, which is continuing to grapple with the major fires that have ravaged Los Angeles communities.
Forecasters warned that strong winds would hit southern California for at least two more days. The winds had eased somewhat on Tuesday afternoon after peaking at 60mph (96km/h) in many areas, but gusty conditions will return on Wednesday, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s office for Los Angeles.
The fresh high winds – that are coming amid still bone-dry conditions – mark the end of a break in dangerous high fire-risk conditions that have allowed the beleaguered city’s firefighters to largely contain the disastrous blazes that have burnt thousands of homes. The fires have killed at least 27 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out during fierce winds on 7 January.
“If a fire were to get started it could grow pretty fast,” Kittell said. Red flag warnings for critical fire risk were extended through Thursday at 8pm across LA and Ventura counties.
The weather service had issued a warning of a “particularly dangerous situation” for parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego counties from Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning due to low humidity and damaging Santa Ana winds.
“The conditions are ripe for explosive fire growth should a fire start,” said Andrew Rorke, a meteorologist with the weather service in Oxnard.
Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, said on Monday that the city was prepared for any possible new fires and warned the strong winds could disperse ash from existing fire zones across southern California. She urged Angelenos to visit lacity.gov to learn about ways to protect themselves from toxic air during Santa Ana winds.
Cal Fire and local fire departments have positioned fire engines, water-dropping aircraft and hand crews across the region to enable a quick response should a new fire break out.
Several small fires started in San Diego county. Evacuation orders were issued for the Lilac fire, which had burned about 50 acres (20 hectares). It was growing “with a moderate rate of spread and structures are threatened”, the California department of forestry and fire protection posted. Firefighters made progress on the Pala fire and it was reported as stopped, the agency said. Another blaze, the Friars fire, ignited near a highway on Monday afternoon, prompting a quick response from crews, the San Diego fire department said. Authorities ordered nearby residents to evacuate while others were told to shelter in place as firefighters work to contain the fire.
On Monday, Los Angeles fire crews quickly put out a small brush fire that broke out south of the triple-domed Griffith Observatory.
A man suspected of starting the fire was taken into custody, said David Cuellar, a Los Angeles police department spokesperson. Firefighters also quickly extinguished a brush fire along Interstate 405 in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Granada Hills that temporarily closed the northbound lanes.
Fire crews aggressively fought a blaze that also sparked Monday afternoon in the city of Poway, in San Diego county, and stopped its forward progress.
A small amount of rain is forecast for the weekend in the Los Angeles area, though more gusty winds are expected to return on Thursday, Rorke said. More rain could fall during localized thunderstorms, which would be a “worst-case scenario” if it is enough to trigger debris flows on scorched hillsides, Kittell said.
Authorities urged people not to mow their lawns to prevent sparking a fire, nor start any fires that could get out of control. They also urged residents to review their evacuation plans and ready emergency kits and be on the lookout for any new blazes and report them quickly.
David Acuna, a spokesperson with the California department of forestry and fire protection, said the biggest concerns were the Palisades and Eaton fires breaking their containment lines and a new blaze starting.
“Don’t do things to start another fire so we can focus on the mitigation of the current fires,” Acuna said.
More evacuation orders were lifted on Monday for Pacific Palisades and authorities said only residents would be allowed to get back in after showing proof of residency at a checkpoint.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
