‘We must not let our guard down’: LA braces for extreme fire danger as gusts return

Washington: Additional water tankers and firefighters arrived in fire-ravaged Los Angeles as the city prepared for an elevated bushfire risk, with the National Weather Service (NWS) declaring a rare “particularly dangerous situation” (PDS) warning for some areas due to commence overnight.

The alert, which indicates extreme urgency, pertains to three regions in and around LA, including the western Santa Monica Mountains, hills surrounding the San Fernando Valley, and the I-5 corridor north of Santa Clarita. Winds with gusts up to 113km/h were expected, along with dangerously low humidity.

One house remains standing at bottom of a hill in the devastated Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.Credit: AP

The NWS said that while peak winds would not be as severe as those that fanned the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires last week, they would be “strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth”. The PDS alert will be in place from 4am Tuesday until 12pm Wednesday, LA time (Wednesday to Thursday AEDT).

California Governor Gavin Newsom noted the PDS warning had been issued four times in the past three months, including before last week’s blazes, and each time had preceded damaging fires. Before 2024, the alert had not been issued since 2020.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials – who have faced criticism over their initial response to fires that began last week – expressed confidence Monday that the region was ready to face the new threat with additional firefighters brought in from around the US, as well as Canada and Mexico.

“We’re absolutely better prepared,” LA County fire chief Anthony Marrone said when asked what will be different from a week ago, when hurricane-force winds propelled multiple fires across the parched, brush-filled region that hasn’t seen rain in more than eight months.

Los Angeles City fire chief Kristin Crowley told a press briefing that teams were on standby and conducting patrols for any new fires that may break out. In addition, more than 5000 firefighting personnel were tackling the ongoing Palisades fire, which has reached 14 per cent containment.

In positive news, crews made “excellent” progress putting out flare-ups and spot-fires overnight, Crowley said. Some evacuation orders in the Santa Monica area have also been lifted.

“We are not in the clear as of yet, and we must not let our guard down,” Crowley said. “We have, right now, extreme fire behaviour, and we need to make sure that the community is staying updated.”

Marrone noted the Eaton blaze did not grow on Sunday, “which is a very good thing”, and had reached 33 per cent containment. It was being fought by about 3400 personnel.

But he warned: “The anticipated winds combined with low humidity and low fuel moisture will keep the fire threat in all of Los Angeles counties critical.

“We’re absolutely better prepared [than last week], but we’re never sure that we’re going to be able to catch the next fire and keep it small. It’s going to be very difficult.”

Fire officials advised residents in high-risk areas to just leave home and not wait for formal evacuation orders if they sense danger.

That’s exactly what Tim Kang of La Crescenta did last Wednesday. Feeling sick from the smoky air and fearful of nearby fires spreading, Kang and his brothers packed up and have stayed away from their neighborhood.

“Everything just felt like, ‘Oh man, the world’s ending’,” said Kang, who’s staying with his girlfriend in Pasadena.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officials urged people to stay out of the evacuated and burnt-out areas, even as residents sought to return to their properties to see if their homes were still standing and survey the damage.

“We have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbours,” said LA County Sheriff Robert Luna. He also noted some areas could be crime scenes.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed it was investigating 24 deaths, but Luna said the toll was expected to grow. The number of people registered as missing is also increasing.

In the aftermath of the fires, dozens of people have been arrested for looting, breaking curfews, impersonating firefighters and other matters. The first charges for looting and arson would be levelled Monday afternoon, authorities said. The arson charge was not related to the major fires but an incident “on the side”, officials said at the morning update in Los Angeles.

The political fallout from the disaster intensified, with President-elect Donald Trump and his allies continuing to blame California’s Democratic leaders. Trump reposted a meme on his Truth Social platform that combined a picture of the fires with the words: “It’s not climate change – it’s Democrats.”

Bass said there would be time after the emergency for a review of decisions and government policies, including funding for the fire department. There was disagreement as to whether the fire budget had actually been cut, she said. Crowley previously said the budget cuts had impacted her department’s capacity to fight the fires.

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