Strong Santa Ana winds, a dry winter and low humidity are some of the conditions that have been fueling the Los Angeles-area wildfires for the past week, destroying numerous structures, causing massive evacuations and killing, so far, 11 people.
Firefighters in the region have made progress, containing portions of the bigger fires. Now, four blazes are actively burning the area, according to Cal Fire. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the bunch, has burned over 22,000 acres with 11 percent being contained so far. The second biggest is the Eaton Fire, having burned more than 14,000 acres with 15 percent contained.
Authorities said the causes of the biggest fires are under investigation. The chief of police for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Jim McDonnell said during a Saturday press conference a task force, made up of multiple agencies, will probe the cause of the wildfires. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will lead the way.
Earlier this week, the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles stated that widespread “damaging” winds and “low” humidities “will likely cause fire starts to rapidly grow in size with extreme fire behavior.”
“An area of high pressure over the Great Basin combined with a storm in northwestern Mexico has created the conditions for strong winds over Southern California starting on Tuesday,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Gwen Fieweger said.
According to some experts, climate change is a contributor, with high temperatures found in drier landscapes packed with vegetation that can speed up the wildfire spread.
“Climate change has a way in which it dries the landscape out faster, keeping the landscape able to ignite and carry fire and that provides less resistance for a fire to spread,” climate scientist with the University of California, Merced John Abatzoglou told The Hill.
Abatzoglou added a “spread” not only aids the larger fires burning in the are, but it can also assist in “overcoming some of the barriers and encroaching upon communities.”
A postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University, Jatan Buch, who studies wildfires told The Hill that although dry land is one of the factors for a devastating fire, the blaze requires an ignition.
“One is the availability of fuel. Second, the fuel needs to be dry enough. And third, these driving factors, like wind — in this case, the Santa Ana winds — that make the fires … more disruptive.”
Those dry conditions, come in part from, low humidity and rain deficit.
Nearly 84 percent of Los Angeles County was in a “severe drought,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
