LA faces ‘extreme fire danger’ as high winds forecast happymamay

The winds that fanned wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles are expected to flare up again on Wednesday, after the 25th death from the massive week-long outbreak was confirmed.

Meteorologists once again designated an “extreme fire danger” zone, confirming the level of danger in an area northwest of the city centre.

In some mountainous areas, wind speeds of up to 70 mph (113 km/h) are possible, nearly as strong as a hurricane if they persist.

The expected increase in speeds threatens to spread the remaining four fires, which firefighters have made further progress against during a few days of calmer conditions.

Wind speeds began to pick up slowly and steadily Wednesday morning in parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. It is expected to reach its peak during the day on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The National Meteorological Service warned that the winds were “weaker but still strong” compared to last week’s conditions.

There are hopes for another drop over the following days, but officials highlighted the need for rain that would help fire crews in their battle.

“Expected winds combined with low humidity and low fuel moisture will keep fire danger in the Los Angeles area critical,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Tuesday.

Areas northwest of Los Angeles, including Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, were considered particularly dangerous.

BBC meteorologist Sarah Keith Lucas says conditions are expected to improve later Thursday and into Friday.

But no rain is expected for at least next week, and the Santa Ana winds blamed for fanning the fires could blow again starting Sunday.

The city of Pasadena’s fire chief stressed the need for rain.

Chad Augustine told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that there had been “no real rain in Southern California” for more than 250 days.

Augustin added that firefighters will spend Wednesday “on standby to make sure we maintain containment lines and that we don’t burn any more buildings.”

Study of extreme weather attribution by climate scientists in ‘Climate scaleHe concluded that the California wildfires were fueled by meteorological conditions enhanced by human-induced climate change.

The study found that current conditions were up to 41 degrees F (5 degrees C) warmer, 15% drier, and 20% windier than in the past, in fire-affected areas.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the 25th death due to the fires. Thirteen other people are still missing.

Most of the victims died in the Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,000 acres north of the city, but firefighters were able to contain 35% of it.

To the west, the larger Palisades Fire has burned more than 23,000 acres and is now 18% contained. Two small fires also continue to burn.

Some victims of the Eaton Fire have now been allowed to return to their homes, although officials say they do not have a set date for the relocation of the Palisades, an upscale area destroyed by the fire that gives its name.

So tens of thousands of people are still under evacuation orders – a nightly curfew is also in effect – and thousands of homes have been destroyed in one of the costliest natural disasters in American history.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday called the scenes “unimaginable” and pledged to exercise her executive powers to spur rapid rebuilding efforts.

To outline other measures to help local residents, another official, the Los Angeles County Supervisor, said an emergency declaration will be issued to prevent alleged price gouging by Los Angeles landlords amid the crisis.