As the fight against a deadly fire in Los Angeles County enters its 10th day, authorities are not allowing evacuees to return to their homes, citing toxic and hazardous waste and exposed power lines and gas lines. I'm warning you.
At a news conference Thursday, Los Angeles County Public Works Chief Engineer Jonah Halpern said toxins such as asbestos and mercury can be detected in fire debris, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and county fire department will conduct door-to-door canvassing. said. A service that assesses and removes hazardous substances at no cost to property owners.
The polar winds behind Los Angeles' devastating fires are expected to subside over the weekend and into the rest of the week, as firefighters make further efforts to extinguish the massive Palisades and Eaton fires that have been burning for more than a week. It will become easier.
national weather bureau said On Thursday, it was announced that the “nine-day wind siege is finally over”, and the weekend will bring higher humidity and a “significant cooling trend” to the region. However, it warned that strong winds could pick up again early next week.
Eaton Fire meteorologist James White said at a news conference Thursday that marine layers are expected to move into the region on Thursday and Friday, bringing much-needed moisture.
As of Thursday morning, crews were still working to fully extinguish Los Angeles' two largest fires. The Palisades Fire has burned more than 23,700 acres and is 22% contained, while the Eaton Fire has burned approximately 14,100 acres and is 55% contained.
Containment numbers are expected to increase rapidly in the coming days. Although the flames are no longer burning, large numbers of firefighters must comb the vast footprint of the fire to ensure the ignition is extinguished and the fire is kept under control.
Firefighters have been able to keep the fire within their footprint in recent days, despite forecasts for “particularly dangerous” winds on Wednesday.
Both fires proved deadly and destructive. Officials said the fires killed at least 27 people and destroyed a total of 12,000 structures. The number of tragic victims is expected to rise further. Natural disaster of this scale May indirectly cause deaths for decades to come.
Officials are scouring the wreckage to tally and assess the destruction left in the wake of these fires, but estimates suggest the fires cost about $250 billion, making them the costliest fires in U.S. history.
Wildfires in the United States are measured in acres. Although the size of a wildfire does not necessarily correlate with its size, destructive impactArea provides a way to understand a fire's footprint and how quickly it spread.
One hectare is 2.47 acres, and one square mile is 640 acres, but this can be difficult to visualize. Let's do a quick comparison. One acre is roughly the size of an American football field. London's Heathrow Airport covers approximately 3,000 acres. Manhattan is approximately 14,600 acres, Chicago is approximately 150,000 acres, and Los Angeles is approximately 320,000 acres.
mega fire
A large fire is defined by the National Interagency Fire Center as a wildfire that has burned more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares).
containment level
A wildfire's containment level indicates how much progress firefighters have made in controlling the fire. Containment is achieved by creating a boundary that the fire cannot cross. This can be done by placing fire retardants on the ground, digging trenches, and removing brush and other flammable fuels.
Containment is measured by the percentage of fires enclosed by these control lines. Wildfires with low containment levels, such as 0% or 5%, essentially continue to burn out of control. A fire with a high containment level, such as 90%, is not necessarily extinguished, but rather has a wide protective perimeter and a controlled rate of spread.
Evacuation orders and warnings
Evacuation warnings and evacuation orders are issued by authorities when a wildfire poses an immediate danger to people's lives or property. According to California Office of Emergency ServicesAn evacuation advisory means it is a good idea to leave the area or prepare to leave immediately. An evacuation order means you must leave the area immediately.
red flag warning
A red flag warning is a type of forecast issued by the National Weather Service that indicates when weather conditions have the potential to start or spread wildfires. These conditions typically include dryness, low humidity, high winds, and heat.
prescribed burns
Prescribed burning, or controlled burning, is a fire that is intentionally ignited under carefully controlled conditions to improve the health of a landscape. Prescribed burns are performed by trained professionals, such as members of the U.S. Forest Service or Native American firefighters. Prescribed burns have benefits such as removing flammable vegetation and reducing the risk of larger, more catastrophic fires.
Prescribed burning was once a common tool among Native American tribes who used “good fire” to improve their land, but for much of the last century, the U.S. government's fire suppression-based was limited by the approach. In recent years, U.S. land managers have once again Benefits of prescribed burnsand now conducts thousands of activities across the country each year.
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quick guide
US wildfire terminology explained
show
acres burned
Wildfires in the United States are measured in acres. Although the size of a wildfire does not necessarily correlate with its size, destructive impactArea provides a way to understand a fire's footprint and how quickly it spread.
One hectare is 2.47 acres, and one square mile is 640 acres, but this can be difficult to visualize. Let's do a quick comparison. One acre is roughly the size of an American football field. London's Heathrow Airport covers approximately 3,000 acres. Manhattan is approximately 14,600 acres, Chicago is approximately 150,000 acres, and Los Angeles is approximately 320,000 acres.
mega fire
A large fire is defined by the National Interagency Fire Center as a wildfire that has burned more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares).
containment level
A wildfire's containment level indicates how much progress firefighters have made in controlling the fire. Containment is achieved by creating a boundary that the fire cannot cross. This can be done by placing fire retardants on the ground, digging trenches, and removing brush and other flammable fuels.
Containment is measured by the percentage of fires enclosed by these control lines. Wildfires with low containment levels, such as 0% or 5%, essentially continue to burn out of control. A fire with a high containment level, such as 90%, is not necessarily extinguished, but rather has a wide protective perimeter and a controlled rate of spread.
Evacuation orders and warnings
Evacuation warnings and evacuation orders are issued by authorities when a wildfire poses an immediate danger to people's lives or property. According to California Office of Emergency ServicesAn evacuation advisory means it is a good idea to leave the area or prepare to leave immediately. An evacuation order means you must leave the area immediately.
red flag warning
A red flag warning is a type of forecast issued by the National Weather Service that indicates when weather conditions are likely to ignite or spread wildfires. These conditions typically include dryness, low humidity, high winds, and heat.
prescribed burns
Prescribed burning, or controlled burning, is a fire that is intentionally ignited under carefully controlled conditions to improve the health of a landscape. Prescribed burns are performed by trained professionals, such as members of the U.S. Forest Service or Native American firefighters. Prescribed burns have benefits such as removing flammable vegetation and reducing the risk of larger, more catastrophic fires.
Prescribed burning was once a common tool among Native American tribes who used “good fire” to improve their land, but for much of the last century, the U.S. government's fire suppression-based was limited by the approach. In recent years, U.S. land managers have once again Benefits of prescribed burnsand now conducts thousands of activities across the country each year.
More than 80,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders, and many are anxious to return to their homes. But officials said it will take time to conduct inspections and remove dangerous debris from the neighborhood.
In the aftermath of the firestorm that ripped through neighborhoods across Los Angeles, broken utility poles wrapped power lines in streets and crumpled homes spewed toxic chemicals. Even if the flames are extinguished, many hazards remain in the burn scars that could endanger returning residents.
Search and rescue operations are also ongoing, Cal Fire said, and necessary public infrastructure repairs have been delayed before the repopulation process can proceed.
As of Thursday morning, inspections of both fire footprints were only half completed, but residents were not given a timeline or time frame for completion. Cal Fire has released an interactive map. eaton fire and palisades firewhich details the status of each structure and will be updated as work is completed.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Eric Scott said the schedule for people returning home will change as the damage needs to be mapped and documented.
“We want people to have realistic expectations,” he said. new york times.
The last evacuation order following the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, was lifted a month after the fire started, according to the Times. Residents of Lahaina, Maui, were allowed to return to their homes two months after the 2023 fire.
The California National Guard has sent troops to guard evacuated areas and prevent residents from re-entering to check on their homes.
Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, met He held a rally with evacuees on Wednesday and told a news conference that the city would work to ensure a speedy rebuilding process for those who lost their homes.
“People are ready to start now,” she said. “If your property burns down and you want to rebuild it exactly as it was before, you don’t have to go through a complicated and lengthy permitting process.”
