Live updates on the fires in Los Angeles
A High Temperature Red Flag Red Flag Warning for Ventura County, Los Angeles, and Orange County, during the 2018 Santa Monica Mountains Wildfires
In the case of a fire, the winds will help spread it quickly because the vegetation is very dry, like they did in the Mountain fire in Ventura County and the Franklin fire in Malibu. Any spark could lead to something very, very dramatic, very quickly.
The winds may return next week. Mr. Thompson said that they are not catching a break. “There’s just no rain in the forecast. So this is going to be a persistent issue for the next couple of weeks.”
In anticipation, utility companies that serve the region warned they could begin shutting off power to some customers, though none had done so yet as of late Monday. San Diego Gas and Electric Company said it was considering power shut-offs for more than 64,000 customers as early as noon on Tuesday. One of the largest pre-emptive outages ever may have cut off nearly 400,000 customers.
A rare “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning was issued for portions of Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties, including downtown Los Angeles, for Tuesday and Wednesday. It is the third time this season that forecasters have issued this level of warning; the previous two warnings came during conditions that led to the Mountain and Franklin wildfires. Still, such warnings are rare: Before this year, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office had issued them only twice, both for warnings in 2020.
There is a brush fire which is burning quickly in the Santa Monica Mountains, driven by 60 mph winds and exploding in size. These gusty winds — which haven’t even reached the maximum predicted 80-100 mph yet — make firefighting difficult, picking up embers and dropping them up to 3/4 of a mile beyond the fire line.
As the South prepped for snow and more cold, some residents in Southern California fled their homes as the NWS said “life-threatening” Santa Ana winds slammed the area and fueled wildfires.
Residents living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area could see 3 to 6 inches of snow by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. It was just 1.5 inches of snow for that metropolitan area, which is making it a major storm. Further south, the NWS said, light snow, ice and sleet is possible, likely creating dangerous road conditions and impacting travel and schools.
Abbott said that Texas was increasing the readiness of the State Operations Center to ensure resources were swiftly deployed to communities as winter sets in.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott instructed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to take all necessary actions to respond to the storm.
Two fatalities and dozens injured in the Palisades fire after a four-day snow-sleashed storm over the weekend
This all comes after a deadly winter storm brought snow and ice from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic and freezing temps lingered in the South over the weekend. As of Monday, at least four people have been killed and dozens injured while the storm moves across several states, stranding cars and knocking out power.
The usually warm spots in New Mexico, Texas and other parts of the South are at risk of getting frozen precipitation in the coming days due to a developing storm.
Officials in Los Angeles warned that residents living along the path of the Palisades Fire should prepare to evacuate as the fire moved quickly through hills surrounding the area due to the strong winds. People in Los Angeles County are required to evacuate.
