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“With the strong winds this morning, I believe we can move forward, turn the corner, and start building resources on this fire,” Cal Fire chief Brent Pascua said. he said The Today Show Thursday.
So far the disaster response has been marred by confusion and controversy. After some firefighting equipment ran dry, President Donald Trump wrongly criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for not properly managing the state’s water resources to save the endangered salmon.
City crews now have access to three water tanks on the hills near the Palisades Fire to deal with the problem. This allows the tanks to be refilled quickly so they can continue to supply the hydrants, Stewart says. Each tank can hold 1 million gallons. He said: “We have drainage canals.”
More firefighters are starting to arrive from Utah, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, and New Mexico. Several task forces are on the way, according to Stewart, each with five fire engines plus a command vehicle.
Flights resumed on Wednesday. A dozen helicopters are filling buckets of water hanging from ropes and sucking sea water through snorkels. Six planes are also using fire, including the “super scoop” planes that have been hovering over the Pacific to collect water. Helicopters and garbage planes drop water on conventional fires, allowing firefighters to contain and extinguish them.
Meanwhile, other planes are dropping firecrackers ahead of the inferno, dousing potential fuel with flame retardants and slowing its progress. The C-130 cargo plane that Cal Fire acquired from the Coast Guard and refurbished this summer can drop 4,000 gallons of retardant. This buys time for the firefighters to dig and light the empty earthen fire extinguishers.
With the ocean pushing the Palisades Fire to the south, responders are trying to keep it from moving east or west. “The real spread will be on the sidelines,” says Pimlott.
A red flag warning for increased fire risk will remain in place until Friday, with humidity at just 8-12 percent. California has been struggling through a very cold winter, with 40 percent of the state in drought conditions.
“The oil is very dry,” said James Magana of Cal Fire he said at the Thursday morning meeting. “You can expect to see a lot of spread, especially on ridges or channels that are aligned with the wind.”
On Saturday, the winds are expected to change direction. If firefighters are not prepared, the heel of the fire may stay ahead and escape to the north.
Even if they are able to stop the fire within the circle of fire barriers and natural barriers, it will not be the end of the job. Firefighters have to put out small fires between them.
“That’s the hardest part, wiping out these hot spots or anything that might start up again if the wind picks up,” Upton says.
Moving forward, the city will need to clean up debris, restore utilities, and assess environmental damage before allowing residents to return. Once the trees and plants that hold the soil are gone, the mud can become dangerous when the rains return.
Los Angeles will face the prospect of rebuilding the devastated areas. This is an opportunity to make them less vulnerable to the next fire, says Max Moritz, a fire specialist at the University of California Cooperative Extension.
Although buildings are generally required to be built with fire-resistant materials, California law does not say anything about how they should be. Strategies such as grouping buildings together instead of spreading them among trees can make them easier to protect from fire, and easier to remove, he says.
“That’s part of the hope here, that we can do it better, smarter, and safer,” says Moritz.
Updated 1-10-2024 1:10 GMT: The number of damaged buildings has been updated.
