New strong wind threat could cause Southern California wildfires to spread

Hundreds of thousands of people in Southern California faced a new threat of strong winds Wednesday that could cause Southern California wildfires to spread further. Firefighters continued to battle wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area that have killed at least 25 people and left nearly 30 missing.

Firefighters got a break from lighter-than-expected winds, but gusts will reach as high as 56 kilometers per hour on the Pacific Coast and 88 kilometers per hour in the mountains before dawn the next day, said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS).

“This is really just the last of the strong winds here today,” Hall said. “Hopefully if we can get through today, we’ll have better weather later in the week, especially Friday and Saturday.”

The National Weather Service issued a high-level “particularly dangerous conditions” warning until 3 p.m. local time Wednesday and extended a red flag warning through Thursday for some areas north of the city of Los Angeles.

“Please stay alert to prevent the fire from spreading quickly,” forecasters said.

Firefighters made some progress Tuesday in containing the two largest fires, the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, as winds were weaker than expected, but they were far from completely under control. Authorities said the Palisades Fire was 19% contained and the Eaton Fire was 45% contained.

But no more homes or major structures were reported on fire in either fire, although officials said embers may still be burning out of sight and it may take weeks to fully extinguish them.

The wildfires, which broke out on Jan. 7, have displaced more than 100,000 people and left thousands on edge, wondering if they could be forced to evacuate their homes and flee to safety at any time. More than 82,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders and another 90,400 were under evacuation warnings, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters.

Lower winds could make it easier for firefighters to contain the fires, but meteorologists warn that dangerous Santa Ana storms could return early next week. The forecast shows little to no chance of rain.

Utilities have cut power to more than 77,000 homes to prevent their wires from sparking new fires.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters she viewed the affected areas from the air on Monday.

“The scale of the destruction is hard to imagine unless you see it with your own eyes,” Bass said.