Tens of thousands flee homes as wildfires tear through California
Los Angeles mayor urges 150,000 people to evacuate homes before it’s too late
VENTURA, CALIF.— Wind-driven fires tore through California communities Tuesday for the second time in two months, leaving hundreds of homes feared lost and uprooting tens of thousands of people.
The most damaging fire was in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles, where 150 structures were confirmed destroyed. But a fire official said he suspected “hundreds more” would be lost when flames died down enough to make a thorough assessment.
In the San Gabriel Mountains foothills of Los Angeles about 70 kilometres away from the city, 30 structures burned. Mayor Eric Garcetti said the gusty winds expected to last most of the week had created a dangerous situation and he urged 150,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders to leave their homes before it’s too late.
“We have lost structures, we have not lost lives,” he said. “Do not wait. Leave your homes.”
In addition to prompting hasty evacuations, the fires shut down two freeways for hours and sent heavy, acrid smoke billowing over the Los Angeles area, creating a health hazard for millions.
There were no immediate reports of any deaths. Two people were critically injured in a small San Bernardino County fire, but no other serious injuries were reported. The fires were under investigation and no causes had been found.
The Ventura wildfire, fanned by dry Santa Ana winds clocked at well over 95 km/h, exploded to nearly 205 square kilometres in a matter of hours.
The fires came just eight weeks af- ter the deadliest and most destructive series of wildfires in state history burned through Northern California and its fabled wine country and killed 44 people and destroyed 8,900 homes and other buildings.
Fires are not typical in Southern California this time of year but can break out when dry vegetation and too little rain combine with the Santa Ana winds. Hardly any measurable rain has fallen in the region over the past six months.
Like the deadly October fires in Napa and Sonoma counties, the new blazes were in areas more suburban than rural.
Fires in those settings are likely to become more frequent as climate change makes fire season a yearround threat and will put greater pressure on local budgets, said Char Miller, a professor of environmental analysis at Pomona College who has written extensively about wildfires.
“There are going to be far greater numbers that are going to be evacuated, as we’re seeing now,” Miller said. “These fires are not just fast and furious, but they’re really expensive to fight.”
Some 3,000 homes remained under threat in Ventura County, said Todd Derum of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Officials expect a better assessment of damage Wednesday, but suspect “hundreds more” homes were lost, Derum said.