90,000 people were evacuated in Southern California due to a fast-moving wildfire. The fire, which engulfed 14,600 acres of land, was dubbed as Blue ridge Fire. Strong winds and low humidity levels are expected to create further dangerous fire levels. About 20,000 residents have been told to leave.
The humidity level in southern California is in single digits. Also, the wind speed is at hurricane levels in higher elevations. The country officials have given red flag warnings with the power cuts are frequent. This is due to the risk of sparking a significant blaze. The Wind knocked down trees and power lines that caused power outages.
Fire evacuations
The Washington Post reported that the two main fires causing the evacuations are the Silverado Fire in Irvine and the Blue Ridge Fire in Yorba Linda and the Chino Hills.
The Weather Service office in Los Angeles called Monday’s fire weather a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” (PDS). PDS are rare events that combine wind gusts greater than 60 mph. Additionally, single-digit humidity and highly flammable vegetation.
The agency reviews red flag warnings because there is concern that they may not be an effective way to communicate high fire danger.
The cause
California did not receive plenty of rainfall in October. This is one of the reasons why the dry winds created fire like situation. The state is bone dry. Most parts of California is under severe drought condition, and a heatwave and unusual barrage of lightning in Northern California sparked a slew of devastatingly large blazes in August.
Warm and dry fall seasons have amplified heat in the region. This trend is the result of part of human-caused climate change. It has also been seen in other parts of the world.
For example, a study found that climate change has doubled during the fall with extreme wildfire conditions in parts of California since the 1980s.
A concern
According to the report, this will be the worst wildfire season for southern California. The fire has already burnt 4.1 million acres. Besides, at least 9,200 structures have been destroyed, and 31 people are killed.
In winter and spring, southern California saw ample rainfall. But the question is, how did it get dry so early? Scorching heatwaves were present all through summer, which happened mostly in July and September. There has also been long-lasting warmth with L.A. that saw daily highs of 70 degrees or above at 190 days.
“We need a lot of rain — a good soaker or two — to help us because of the record dry vegetation,” Warning coordination metrologist AlexTardy said. “We’ve got a long way to go before this fire weather season is under control.”
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