Fire crews working to subdue multiple blazes chewing through terrain in the Los Angeles area scrambled Friday to take advantage of easing wind conditions and build containment lines around the conflagrations that have claimed 11 lives — before more powerful winds return over the weekend and next week.
Red flag warnings of critical fire danger will be in place for much of the L.A. area through 6 p.m. Friday, affecting the Santa Clarita Valley, Malibu Coast, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Mountains, San Gabriel Valley and the Golden State (5) and Antelope Valley (14) freeway corridors.
Forecasters said those areas could see north to northeast winds of 20 to 35 mph, with gusts of 35 to 55 mph in wind-prone areas.
The Los Angeles County inland coastal area, stretching into downtown, will also be under a red flag warning until 6 p.m. Friday, with winds of 15 to 25 mph anticipated, along with gusts of up to 35 mph — possibly reaching 45 mph in the Hollywood Hills.
National Weather Service forecasters said there would be a “significant drop off” in wind velocity Friday afternoon.
“This gives the area about an 18-hour reprieve in the winds (Friday night) through late morning Saturday before the next burst of offshore flow and wind begins later Saturday into Sunday morning,” according to the NWS.
That weekend wind event “seems generally focused on the San Gabriel Mountains but probably at least some advisory-level winds down into some of the valleys and Santa Monica Mountains.”
The NWS issued a high wind watch that will be in effect for the San Gabriel Mountains, western Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area and the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway that will be in effect Saturday night through Sunday afternoon. Those areas could see winds ranging from 30 to 50 mph, potentially gusting up to 60 mph.
But more powerful winds are anticipated to hit the region early next week.
“Right now it looks like Tuesday will be the strongest day,” forecasters said. “Unlike this week’s very dangerous event, which was more of a northerly wind event, this one is very likely to be a traditional (northeast) Santa Ana event. Still, the low humidities and the winds will combine to bring enhanced fire danger to the area.”
The winds were fueling multiple brush fires in the L.A. area, the largest being the roughly 20,000-acre blaze in Pacific Palisades that has killed at least five people, according to the county medical examiner.
Another massive brush fire in the Eaton Canyon area above Altadena has claimed at least six lives. Additional blazes flared this week in Sylmar, Acton, the Hollywood Hills, West Hills and Studio City.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna declined on Thursday to provide more specific updates on possible fatalities, saying he was “not satisfied with some of the information” he was receiving.
“At one point we’ll be able to do a more thorough search of these impacted areas — some of them look like a bomb was dropped on them — where we will be able to bring in canines and other things to help us hopefully not discover too many fatalities,” Luna said. “That’s our priority. But this is a crisis and we don’t know what to expect but we’re ready for everything.”
Cal Fire officials said Thursday an aerial survey of the Palisades Fire determined that more than 5,300 structures had been damaged or destroyed, while county Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Friday that roughly 7,000 structures had been damaged or destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
AccuWeather, which on Wednesday estimated that the total damage and economic loss from the fires would be between $52 billion and $57 billion, issued a revision on Thursday, raising the estimate to between $135 billion and $150 billion. Such a cost would make it “one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement.
According to Luna, as of Friday morning, 153,000 people in the area were under mandatory evacuation orders from the various fires, and 166,800 others were under evacuation warnings.
The county has implemented a curfew that will be in effect nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the mandatory evacuation areas in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones in an effort to deter looting
The California National Guard also began deploying to the Los Angeles area Friday, with members deployed to the Eaton Fire area and into cities including Santa Monica and Pasadena. They were also expected to be stationed at locations in Arcadia and Azusa, as well as at the Palisades Fire. Luna said Guard members will be deployed to the area to assist with traffic control, patrols and other duties.
President Joe Biden approved a Major Disaster declaration for the state on Wednesday in response to the fires — some of which he was able to witness firsthand while wrapping up a short visit to the L.A. area. He received a briefing from fire officials before he left the Southland Wednesday afternoon.
During a fire briefing at the White House Thursday, Biden announced that federal assistance that was previously approved to help pay for the costs of the firefighting efforts and recovery — which normally covers only 75% of expenses — will now cover 100% of costs for 180 days.
As is standard during high-fire-danger conditions, Southern California Edison customers in some areas could have their power turned off under the utility’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs program. The program is designed to de-energize power lines that could potentially be damaged and spark a wildfire during red flag conditions.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 27,000 SCE customers in Los Angeles County had their power cut due to the program, along with 883 in Orange County. Another 69,000 customers in Los Angeles County were under consideration for power cuts, along with nearly more than 12,000 in Orange County.
Updated information about power cuts is available at www.sce.com/outage-center/outage-information/psps.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that as of Friday morning, 56,000 of its 1.5 million electricity customers were without power, including 6,500 in the Palisades Fire area.
The city of Los Angeles imposed red flag parking restrictions at 8 a.m. Tuesday, continuing until further notice, likely for the duration of the wind event. The restrictions are designed to keep streets clear for emergency vehicles that may need to quickly access developing wildfires, and to ensure open roadways for residents who may need to evacuate. Pasadena city officials implemented similar parking restrictions.