LOS ANGELES (AP) — More than a week into what could be the costliest wildfires in U.S. history, weary and anxious Los Angeles-area residents were hoping Wednesday for a favorable shift in the winds and an end to living in fear that their lives might be further upended.
The blazes that began Jan. 7 have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 25 people, with nearly 30 missing. The conflagrations fueled by dry Santa Ana winds have scorched a total of at least 63 square miles (163 square kilometers) of land, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes, stretching firefighting efforts thin, knocking out power to tens of thousands and making the water unsafe to drink in some areas.
Javier Vega said he feels like he's been “sleeping with one eye open" listening to the sounds of helicopters flying over his Sherman Oaks neighborhood of LA into the early-morning hours. Kaylin Johnson said she and her family have spent sleepless nights keeping watch to ward off looters and hose down their house, which is one of the few still standing in their neighborhood near Pasadena.
“Our lives have been put on hold indefinitely,” Johnson said via text message, adding that her family can't come and go freely because of restrictions on entering burned out areas like theirs.
Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the fires. Government agencies haven’t provided preliminary damage estimates yet, but AccuWeather, a company that provides data on weather and its impact, puts the damage and economic losses at $250 billion to $275 billion.
Although the winds gained strength Wednesday, setting the region on edge, there is hope on the horizon, with a shift in winds expected Friday that will bring moister Pacific air instead of the dry inland gusts that have been feeding the flames.
Here’s a closer look at what to know about the fires.
Strong winds kick up
Winds gusted up to 35 mph (56 kph) before dawn Wednesday along the coast and in the valleys, and up to 55 mph (89 kph) in the mountains around LA, said National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall.
A red-flag warning, which notes the increased risk of fire danger, was already in effect, but the weather service issued a rare warning about a “particularly dangerous situation” related to severe fire conditions.
The Santa Ana winds have turned seasonal wildfires into infernos that have leveled neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles, where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.
Southern California’s winds typically flow onshore from the Pacific, carrying moist air onto land. The Santa Ana winds are warm currents that move in the opposite direction. They usually occur from September through May.
The wind is expected to switch directions on Friday and blow from the coast to the desert, which would bring more moisture off the Pacific Ocean, Hall said.
Potential for fire tornados poses another threat
Firefighters have also faced the potential threat of fire tornadoes — a rare but dangerous phenomenon in which wildfires create their own weather. They are known by various other names, including fire whirls, fire devils and even firenados.
Wildfires with turbulent plumes can produce clouds that in turn can produce lightning or a vortex of ash, smoke and flames, said Leila Carvalho, professor of meteorology and climatology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“There is a rotation caused by very strong wind shear and a very hot, localized low-pressure system,” she said. Fire tornadoes can make fires stronger by sucking up air.
Water safety worries
Sewer, water and power infrastructure across the region has been significantly damaged, and several utilities have declared their drinking water unsafe until extensive testing can prove otherwise.
Toxic chemicals from the fires can get into damaged drinking water systems. Experts say filtering or boiling won’t help.
Los Angeles County has more than 200 water service providers, but so far only a handful believe that damage or loss of pressure may have resulted in chemical contamination and have issued “Do Not Drink” notices.
Utilities are focused on ensuring there’s enough water for fighting fires, though some are beginning to test for contaminants. It can take weeks to months of testing before water can be declared safe for drinking.
Thousands remain evacuated or without power
More than 82,000 people from highly populated neighborhoods including Pacific Palisades, Altadena and others remained under evacuation orders Wednesday. Another 90,400 people have been warned that they might have to evacuate.
Officials caution that even where evacuation orders have been lifted, hazards like downed power lines and broken gas lines are adding to safety concerns.
An overnight curfew remains in effect for evacuated areas, and violators have been arrested, authorities said.
Around 850 patients and residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and group homes were evacuated after the blazes last week, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Many schools in the area have been closed since the fires began, but some students are now beginning to return to class. In areas where schools have been damaged or destroyed, officials are looking to relocate students into temporary classrooms.
Palisades Charter High School, for example, asked the community for help finding temporary classrooms for its roughly 3,000 students to "maintain a sense of normalcy and stability in their lives,” the school said in a press release.
More than 96,000 customers, more than half in Los Angeles County, were without power across California on Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.
Investigators are looking into what caused the fires
Investigators haven't determined the cause. But a person whose home was destroyed in the Eaton blaze claims in a lawsuit filed Monday that Southern California Edison’s equipment sparked it.
Lightning is the most common source of fires in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association, but investigators quickly ruled that out.
FEMA aid
About 40,000 people have applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has already disbursed more than $8 million for immediate needs such as water, food, baby formula and gas. The initial money goes directly into bank accounts, regional FEMA administrator Robert J. Fenton, Jr. said Tuesday, denying misinformation about vouchers.
President Joe Biden said the federal government would pay all of the firefighting and recovery costs in the first 180 days. But that doesn’t mean FEMA will cover 100% of individual families’ costs — the maximum amount FEMA can provide is $43,600, Fenton said.
FEMA offers up to $770 to help cover the evacuees’ immediate needs, but its larger grants generally aren’t available until after insurance companies pay out. Someone who receives a maximum grant from FEMA might be eligible for another $10,000 grant from the state.
