On Monday, planes doused homes and hillsides with bright pink fire-retardant chemicals, while crews and fire engines were placed near particularly vulnerable spots with dry brush. Dozens of additional water trucks rolled in to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week when the two largest fires erupted.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials — who have faced criticism over their initial response to fires that began last week — expressed confidence Monday that the region was ready to face the new threat with scores of additional firefighters brought in from around the U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico.
“We’re absolutely better prepared,” LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said when asked what will be different from a week ago, when hurricane-force winds propelled multiple fires across the parched,brush-filled region that has seen almost no rain in more than eight months.
More than a dozen wildfires have broken out in Southern California since Jan. 1, mostly in the greater Los Angeles area.
The latest started Monday night in a dry riverbed in an agricultural area of Oxnard, about 55 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and tore through tall brush before firefighters stopped its progress, the Ventura County Fire Department said.
Winds began gusting in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles early Tuesday and were forecast to continue through midday Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. They are not expected to reach hurricane-force like last week, but they could ground firefighting aircraft, Marrone said, warning if winds reach 70 mph, “it’s going to be very difficult to contain that fire."
The National Weather Service warned the weather will be "particularly dangerous" Tuesday, when gusts could reach 65 mph. A large part of Southern California around Los Angeles is under an extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, including densely populated Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.
Fire officials advised residents in high-risk areas to just leave home — and not wait for formal evacuation orders — if they sense danger.
