With the winds in Los Angeles easing over the weekend, firefighting teams were able to take a brief respite in their battle against the massive fires raging in the city and its surroundings. However, meteorologists expect the winds to pick up again starting Monday.
Meteorologist Daniel Swain predicted last Saturday that the winds would intensify from Monday to Wednesday, fueling the fires. He warned of facing a "new period of danger," noting that the next six or seven days might not see any rain at all.
Trump’s expected visit
While thousands of firefighters continue to work around the clock to control the devastating fires, President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that he intends to visit the affected area after his inauguration on Monday, "perhaps later this week."
Trump had launched an attack on Democratic officials in California, accusing them of incompetence in managing the raging fires in Los Angeles, and California Governor Gavin Newsom invited him to inspect the efforts himself.
Dozens of people are still missing, while at least 27 people have died due to the fires in Altadena in northern Los Angeles and in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood on the west side of the city.
The fires have consumed more than 16,000 hectares, an area roughly equivalent to the size of Washington, D.C., and have led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
Mounted police officers and others accompanied by trained dogs are searching the affected areas, burnt buildings, and rugged terrain for victims.
Winston Ekpo, whose house survived the fires, told AFP, "I hope they contact us soon to return (to our home)."
The father, who left his home with his wife and children ten days ago, added that he wishes he could "remove the smoke and maybe buy some air purifiers."
Road cleaning
Hundreds of trucks are taking the Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu Coast routes, transporting workers who have come to clean the roads, restore electricity, and check for water and gas leaks.
The federal authorities have launched an investigation to determine the causes of the fires, around which many theories are circulating.
Experts point to several factors, the most notable being that the region experienced heavy rainfall over two years, which led to the growth of green plants. These plants later dried up due to the lack of rainfall for several months. They noted that the very low humidity levels and the extremely dry vegetation after eight months without precipitation contributed to the spread of the fires.
The seasonal winds known as Santa Ana also caused the fires to spread at an incredible speed, making the firefighters' task nearly impossible.
It is common for these winds to blow in the fall and winter seasons in California, but this time they reached an unprecedented intensity since 2011, with speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour last week.
Alex Tardy from the National Weather Service said, "The fire risk with dry vegetation is unprecedented in modern times," pointing to the climatic and field conditions and the Santa Ana winds.
He added that this does not necessarily mean that the fires will continue to spread, but if they do ignite, their spread is likely to be "more dangerous and larger."
