The Summary
- Exceptionally dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds have fueled the dangerous fires in Los Angeles.
- Southern California has been abnormally dry for months, even in what is typically the rainy season.
- Devastating blazes are expected to become more frequent as climate change amplifies the ingredients that help wildfires ignite and spread.
A frightening triple combination of extreme conditions—a protracted drought, an extremely dry winter, and strong Santa Ana winds—has sparked multiple out-of-control wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
As of Wednesday, two people have been killed and over 1,000 buildings had been burned by fast-moving fires that had devoured the Pacific Palisades area, portions of Pasadena and Altadena, and Sylmar, north of San Fernando.
Furious winds, with gusts over 100 mph in many locations, fueled the flames. Any ignition was expected to turn into a monstrous fire due to Southern California’s arid terrain.
According to Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, we haven’t had any significant rainfall in hundreds of days.
Destructive wildfires like the ones in the Los Angeles area will continue to endanger people’s lives and livelihoods because climate change is changing rainfall patterns and increasing the likelihood and severity of droughts, according to Moritz.
California’s rainy season ordinarily lasts from December to February, but over the previous eight months, Southern California has been unusually dry, in contrast to the northern portion of the state, which has experienced its fair share of soakings. Early May was the last time Los Angeles received more than a tenth of an inch of precipitation.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, this indicates that the whole southern portion of the state is experiencing moderate to severe drought.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, wrote on the Weather West blog that parts of San Diego County are seeing its driest start to the winter season in over 150 years.
According to Swain, the gusts were like an atmospheric blowdryer.
All of these factors combined to prepare the area for deadly wildfires.
The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office warned Wednesday on X that “gusty winds and very dry conditions will continue to fuel fire starts and existing fires” through Friday until the end.
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