Todays Weather where you live?

[JOdel]

Inner city L.A. with wildfires adjacent. It's not especially chilly, but not exactly warm either. We've been being blown to pieces with the Santa Anas and although wildfires are a non-issue where I am, power outages are likely when things get thrown at the power lines. And the new Sunset fire is effectively working its way into Griffith Park, which is disquieting. Air quality warnings have been issued.

 

[Terre]

Inner city L.A. with wildfires adjacent. It's not especially chilly, but not exactly warm either. We've been being blown to pieces with the Santa Anas and although wildfires are a non-issue where I am, power outages are likely when things get thrown at the power lines. And the new Sunset fire is effectively working its way into Griffith Park, which is disquieting. Air quality warnings have been issued.

I hope you stay safe. I've been looking at the news and feeling very sorry for all of you. That situation is horrible.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

On the outskirts of Los Angeles, we're finally free of the Santa Anas, which clocked 99 mph in my neighborhood on Tuesday/Wednesday. We're sandwiched between fire several fires; the Sylmar (Hurst) and the more closer Eaton Canyon fire (which we are just outside the voluntary evacuation zone of). Without the wind, the smoke from both fires is settling in our valley, making it impossible to go outside to deal with the fallen trees in our yard from the windstorm. Air quality going to be awful for some time... but at least we weren't directly affected by the fires this time.

 

[Flint_Hawk]

How is Elsa doing in the smoke?

 

[Ken Gilliland]

How is Elsa doing in the smoke?

she's fine... and the hundreds of birds in our yard don't seem to mind it (or are just dealing with it)... the quail and white-crowned sparrows anxiously were waiting in nearby bushes for us to distribute their daily morning seed ration... but we're keeping the doors/windows closed tightly and wearing N-95 masks when outside. The smoke doesn't smell like normal wildfire smoke, which isn't too surprising after seeing the photo of the area impact by the closet fire.

 

[Alisa]

Yikes - hope everyone stays safe. Very scary conditions indeed. Glad the Santa Anas have died down!

 

[KageRyu]

@JOdel @Ken Gilliland I hope you are both spared from the fires and blackouts and kept safe. I hope emergency services are able to start turning the situation around. The news I have seen is devastating. My sympathies and condolences to all those who are in the Los Angeles area or have friends or loved ones there.

The one thing the news has left me confused about - were these wildfires already burning and just spread wildly by the high winds? Or did these start recently and were made worse by the winds?

 

[Stezza]

Watching from downunder I can’t believe funding was cut to the emergency services and that the water has run out!

keep safe

 

[Terre]

At least the winds have died down. The smoke likely has a lot of burned plastic and such in it. Masks are something everyone needs to be wearing outside.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

@JOdel @Ken Gilliland ...The one thing the news has left me confused about - were these wildfires already burning and just spread wildly by the high winds? Or did these start recently and were made worse by the winds?

Weather forecasters can tell when the wind event is coming... the "typical" ones last three days with the first night being strong, the second being the worst and the third being mild. Some times we're hit by back-to-back Santa Anas (and unfortunately its looking like that might be the case this time). The winds average fairly constant 25-50 mph with some strong gusts 50-100+ mph. They are caused Great Basin/Desert air hitting coastal air and causing a high/low pressure imbalance. Because of the mountains surrounding Los Angeles, the air searches for and finds passes and canyons to get itself to the coast which accelerates the wind speed.

In the case of these fires... the wind came first, then the fires with the majority starting between the first and second days. There isn't any evidence yet how the fires started this time, but an official at Cal Fire says that 95% of all California wildfires are man-made.

 

[KageRyu]

I hope that they catch the responsible party and that there is severe criminal prosecution. Sadly so many have lost so much - and so many cannever be made whole again in light of the insurance crunch in California in recent years as well. A terrible combination of circumstances all around.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

One person has been caught (Kenneth fire) by neighbors in the area yesterday and now held by police. He had a butane tank with some sort of "flamethrower" type attachment. He claimed to the police, he needed it to light his joints/cigarettes. update: A second person arrested for attempted arson at Leo Carrillo State Beach on Jan 8 (near the Pallisades fire).

 

[Alisa]

Glad they're getting these #$%#$% people...

 

[KageRyu]

I am going to try to make some art in support of the victims of these fires. If I can get it done in the next few days I will share it here, and encourage others to share it elsewhere. I do not really have a social media presence to do so.

 

[Stezza]

low humidity is a big danger sign, and you have it around 5% which is not good... We worry when it gets down to 30% here ..

any small spark can and will set off a chain reaction which you are currently living through, and forecasts are saying Santana hasn't finished yet.

and then these fires will start their own weather systems, it is so dangerously awesome and scary.

keep safe

 

[DanaTA]

low humidity is a big danger sign, and you have it around 5% which is not good... We worry when it gets down to 30% here ..

any small spark can and will set off a chain reaction which you are currently living through, and forecasts are saying Santana hasn't finished yet.

and then these fires will start their own weather systems, it is so dangerously awesome and scary.

keep safe

I think Santana is still touring, yes! I think you mean the Santa Ana winds!

 

[Stezza]

I think Santana is still touring, yes! I think you mean the Santa Ana winds!

Apparently way back in the day it was originally called the Santana winds then it changed to Santa Ana winds.... or the devil winds! eeeek!

 

[KageRyu]

I recall it being the Santa Anna winds all through my life, as in the Mexican General and Politician of the 1800s, though the spelling is different. There is a canyon of the same name and spelling which is where the winds seem to originate from and likely how they got their name.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

The winds are named so because it was originally believed that their origin was from Santa Ana canyon... the nickname "Devil Winds" comes from the fact they appear to be the worst around 3am in the morning (the Devil's hour) in the Los Angeles area. The winds also drop humidity here into the single digits. There's suppose to be a moderate set of winds coming in tonight and possibly followed by more next Tuesday-Wednesday. 0ur fire (Eaton) has had little growth over the past few days but the Palisades fire took an unexpected turn last night and is now burning into another high-end neighborhood, Brentwood (where UCLA is).

There's been no appreciate rain here since last March making this one of the driest period on record. Our "rainy" season generally starts in October and ends in May with the height occurring late December through February. During the rainy period in 2022-23 we had 63 inches; in 2023-24 we had 40 inches, and so far through this season, 0.5 inch. So everything is very,very dry.

 

[Alisa]

Everyone in the area is in my thoughts and prayers. Stay safe!