Los Angeles: at least 1,000 under evacuation orders amid wildfire
A brush fire in southern California has torn through more than 1,300 acres, shrouding parts of Los Angeles with plumes of smoke and ash and prompting evacuation orders for at least 1,000 residents.
Investigators suspect an arsonist may have sparked the Palisades fire, and have taken a suspect into custody, Los Angeles’s mayor, Eric Garcetti, announced at a Monday morning news conference.
The wildfire, dubbed the Palisades fire, broke out late on Friday in the Santa Monica Mountains and grew rapidly on Saturday afternoon.
Historically dry conditions and warm temperatures helped fuel the fire as it ripped through dense, drought-desiccated vegetation in Topanga Canyon, a remote community of ranch homes west of Los Angeles. The region had not burned in more than 50 years, according to other Los Angeles fire departments.
“The fire season in California and across the west is starting earlier and ending later each year,” according to Cal Fire, the state’s wildfire agency. Due in large part to global heating, “the length of fire season is estimated to have increased by 75 days across the Sierra and seems to correspond with an increase in the extent of the forest fires across the state,” the agency said.
Although peak fire season in California usually runs from the summer through autumn, an intense drought has dried out fire-fueling vegetation, priming the landscape to burn, as exceptionally warm spring weather creates critical fire conditions. Dry winds and hot weather sparked small grass fires across northern California this month, as well as a 5,100-acre blaze in the south, near San Diego. The National Weather Service issued a “red flag” fire warning for parts of northern California for the first time in the month of May since 2014.
As firefighters work to contain the Palisades fire, air quality officials extended a smoke advisory through Monday. The plumes have affected visibility for firefighting aircrews. But the steep, hilly terrain also presented challenges to crews on the ground.
“Dozers are working to improve access for firefighters on the ground but much of the area remains inaccessible,” said the Los Angeles fire department’s Margaret Stewart. “This is primarily an air-based operation.”
About 500 first responders from various agencies are working to contain the fire.