The tide may finally be turning against the LA fires
“With the winds being very calm this morning, I believe we can actually make some progress, turn around and start containing these fires,” said Brent Pascua, a Cal Fire battalion chief. told The Today Show on Thursday.
To date, disaster relief has been marred by disinformation and controversy. After some fire hydrants dried up, President-elect Donald Trump baselessly accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of mismanaging the state’s water supply to save an endangered fish.
City staff have now been able to reach three water tanks on hills near the Palisades Fire to increase pressure. This allows the tanks to be refilled more quickly so the fire hydrants can continue to be served, Stewart says. Each tank can hold 1 million gallons. “We have full-flowing hydrants,” she said.
More and more firefighters have arrived from Utah, Oregon, Arizona, Washington and New Mexico. According to Stewart, several dozen emergency services are on the move, each with five fire engines and a command vehicle.
The planes began flying again on Wednesday. Twelve helicopters fill giant water buckets suspended from cables and suck up seawater through snorkels. Six aircraft are also battling the fires, including two “super scoop” planes that have flown over the surface of the Pacific to take on water. The helicopters and firefighting planes pour water on individual fires so that firefighters can get closer and put out the fires.
Meanwhile, other planes drop fire retardants ahead of the inferno, coating potential fuel with a layer of nonflammable chemicals and slowing its movement. A C-130 cargo plane that Cal Fire acquired from the Coast Guard and upgraded this summer can eject 4,000 gallons of flame retardant. This gives firefighters time to dig and bulldoze firebreaks from bare ground.
Because the ocean limits the Palisades Fire to the south, crews will try to prevent it from starting to the east or west. “The real spread will be on the flank,” says Pimlott.
The increased fire danger warning remains in effect until Friday as humidity is only 8-12 percent. California has experienced an unusually dry winter, with 40 percent of the state experiencing drought conditions.
“Fuels remain critically dry,” said James Magana of Cal Fire said at a briefing on Thursday morning. “One can expect critical rates of spread, particularly on ridges or drainages that face the wind.”
A reversal in wind direction is expected on Saturday. If firefighters are not ready, the fire could become a front line and spread north.
Even if they manage to contain the wildfire within a circle of firebreaks and natural barriers, the job is not complete. Firefighters have to fight smaller fires within this area.
“This is a critical period to eliminate those hotspots or anything that could flare up again if the wind returns,” Upton said.
Going forward, the city must clear the debris, restore utilities and assess the damage to the environment before allowing people to return. Because the canyons no longer have trees and vegetation to hold the soil in place, mudslides could become a threat once the rains return.
Los Angeles faces the challenge of rebuilding devastated communities. This is an opportunity to make them less vulnerable to the next fire, said Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist with the University of California Cooperative Extension.
Although in many cases homes must be constructed of fire-resistant materials, California law is silent on how they should be constructed. Techniques like grouping houses together instead of spreading them among trees could make them easier to protect from fire and easier to evacuate, he says.
“That’s part of the hope here that we can make some of this better, smarter and safer,” says Moritz.
Updated 10/1/2024 at 1:10 GMT: The number of buildings destroyed has been updated.
