Last Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” (PDS) red flag warning to Los Angeles and Ventura counties about incoming strong winds. “This is about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the warning for Tuesday through Thursday said.
Over the next three days, fires whipped by gusts of up to 100 m.p.h. burned some 29,000 acres. As of Sunday evening, 24 people have died, with the toll expected to rise. And some of the largest of the fires aren’t yet contained.
Read More: Understanding How Massive the L.A. Fires Are
Now, the NWS has issued another PDS red flag warning that between 4 a.m. local time this Tuesday and noon on Wednesday dangerous so-called Santa Ana winds are coming back, albeit weaker than last week’s though “strong enough to potentially cause exponential fire growth.”
During a multi-agency press conference on Sunday about the still-raging fires and impending winds, Los Angeles City Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley called the disaster “one of the most challenging natural events in the history of the city” and cautioned, “it’s not over.”
Here’s what to know about what this wind warning means for the days ahead.
When such warnings are issued
Red flag warnings are issued by the NWS when the conditions for fire weather—gusty winds, warm temperatures, and low humidities—are present or imminent. The winds could fan flames and carry embers that could cause more fires or help existing ones to spread more rapidly.
Read More: The Conditions That Led to the ‘Unprecedented’ Los Angeles County Fires
The “particularly dangerous situation” (PDS) language is added by the NWS to extreme weather watch alerts or warnings in rare cases to convey heightened urgency and risk. It has traditionally been applied to tornado events but has also been used for flash floods, thunderstorms, windchill, and fire weather.
Previous PDS red flag warnings were issued ahead of the Mountain and Franklin fires late last year in reference to incoming Santa Ana winds at the time. According to the New York Times, the NWS’s Los Angeles office had only used such a warning twice before that: both in 2020, also in reference to Santa Ana winds.
Santa Ana winds, sometimes called “devil winds,” are strong, dry winds that seasonally affect Southern California and have often fueled the development and spread of wildfires. According to a primer from the University of California, Los Angeles, the winds originate from high pressure in the desert environment of the Great Basin—the mountain-bound area spanning almost all of Nevada, part of Utah, and other states—and gain speed as they make their way down toward the west coast.
What the new winds mean for evacuations
Los Angeles County Fire Department chief Anthony Marrone said at the press conference on Sunday that the incoming strong winds combined with low humidities and low fuel moistures “will keep the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County very high.”
Because of the imminent threat, people who have been evacuated from their homes will not be able to return until Thursday at the earliest, authorities said—leaving many evacuees, according to local news reports, frustrated that they cannot check on the status of their property or retrieve belongings. Across the region, more than 150,000 people have been sent mandatory evacuation orders.
County Sheriff Robert Luna also reminded that a curfew is still in effect in impacted areas as authorities are still trying to clear out hazards. “I know there’s a lot of folks trying to get back to their houses,” Luna said. “We are very empathetic and sensitive to those needs but your safety comes first.”
Crowley, the LA city fire chief, also said on Sunday that residents who haven’t yet been evacuated should be prepared for possible further evacuation orders due to the incoming wind event.
“With this next wind event, you’ve got to stay informed,” Crowley said. “Follow all evacuation warnings and orders—and the key here is without delay.”
How firefighters are preparing
“Please rest assured that your County of Los Angeles Fire Department will be prepared,” Marrone said about the upcoming winds. Officials have taken several measures, including dropping fire retardants via aircraft along hillsides to serve as barriers to contain the fires and bringing in additional engines, fire crews, helicopters, and bulldozers, which have been positioned preemptively all over the region. A mobilization center was also set up in Beaumont, outside of fire-impacted areas, to deploy resources swiftly as necessary.
Crowley—who criticized city officials last week, saying “we would’ve been in a better position” to fight the fires if not for lack of funding and answered in the affirmative when asked “Did the city of Los Angeles fail you, and your department and our city?”—offered a sharply different tone on Sunday. “We are ready,” she said. “Mayor [Karen] Bass, [Police] Chief [Jim] McDonnell, myself, our city leaders are fully, fully committed to ensure that we’re ready for this next event.”
