Doha, January 13 (QNA) – US firefighters are in a relentless race against time to extinguish six wildfires that have broken out simultaneously in different parts of Los Angeles, California over the past week. There is.
The fire continues to spread and is expected to grow further in the coming hours as strong winds are expected to blow again.
Aircraft and helicopters are working to extinguish the fire to prevent it from spreading to new areas, but the National Weather Service (NWS) warns of strong winds of 80 to 110 km/h, especially in the upper atmosphere, for the next three days. uttered. mountainous area.
Local officials predict wind strength will peak on Tuesday, indicating that Los Angeles and Ventura counties will remain under severe fire danger warnings through Wednesday, and California officials said , warned that strong winds predicted in the coming days pose a significant threat of worsening the situation. The devastation in the city.
The death toll from the fires that ravaged vast swaths of Los Angeles County rose to 24, with 16 people still missing, while entire neighborhoods of America’s second-largest city were reduced to ashes and smoldering ruins. . Wealthy people and civilians alike were devastated as the flames consumed their homes.
More than 12,000 structures, including buildings and vehicles, were destroyed, and forecasting firm AccuWeather estimates economic damage and losses to be in the range of $135 billion to $150 billion.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the fire was likely the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, both in terms of cost and scale, and firefighters from Mexico arrived in Los Angeles to help put out 14,000 fires. He pointed out that more than 1,000 people had joined the team. .
He ordered an investigation into Los Angeles County’s water management after reports that critical reservoirs failed during fires and water pressure at some emergency hydrants dropped before drying up, and the Marshalls for Rebuild California He emphasized his intention to start planning. .
Emergency workers, with the help of trained dogs, continue to comb through the rubble looking for victims. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said the U.S. military is ready and on standby to help extinguish the wildfires. .
Amid rampant looting in evacuation areas, authorities have imposed a strict curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the hard-hit Pacific Palisades and Altadena, calling for solidarity to support thousands of displaced families. There has been a sudden increase in calls for volunteer activities and donations.
Meanwhile, many residents have expressed concern about authorities’ management of the crisis, citing examples of firefighters encountering empty water tanks and lack of water pressure.
Interestingly, there is a glimmer of hope with reports that some fires have been partially extinguished, which officials say has led to a strong firefighting force, including teams from multiple states such as Mexico and Canada. He said 14,000 people will now be able to focus on the more intense and devastating fires in Palisades and Eaton. .
The winds currently blowing through California, known as the Santa Ana, are normal in the fall and winter, but last week they reached unprecedented strength, at times reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour, carrying embers great distances. And it was fanned by the warm and strong seasonal winds. It flows from the desert through the mountains to the California coast.
However, the exact cause remains unclear as the fire was exacerbated by Santa Ana winds.
More specifically, January is typically one of the wettest months in Los Angeles, and large wildfires are rare, but climate change is causing more extreme temperatures and fluctuations, shifting from wet to dry conditions. However, the behavior of fires is changing.
While such winds are not unusual at this time of year, their strength is exceptional, coinciding with a drought in Los Angeles that marked the beginning of the driest rainy season in more than 80 years and eclipsed last year’s unusually wet season. After a long winter, the landscape was dry. , thereby creating an environment conducive to faster and more widespread fires. (QNA)
