<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/07/california-wildfire-evacuations>
"A wind-driven wildfire roared through rural and residential communities
north-west of Los Angeles, charring more than 20,500 acres and leveling scores
of homes.
The Mountain fire in Ventura county, California, continued to burn on Thursday
morning, as footage showed dozens of structures turned to smoldering ruins now
lining the streets where neighborhoods once stood.
Fire officials said in a news conference on Thursday evening that an assessment
by damage teams has revealed 132 structures destroyed, mostly homes, and 88
structures damaged.
“This is a challenging fire and a wind-driven fire. We are still at 0%
containment as we are still focusing on life safety and structure defense,”
said a Ventura county fire spokesperson, Andy VanSciver, in a morning press
conference, adding that the county has deployed 10 damage assessment crews to
go street-by-street to tally the toll. By Thursday evening, the fire was 5%
contained.
Hundreds of firefighters battled the blaze through the night using both ground
resources and helicopters, according to the Ventura county fire department, and
officials added more resources were on the way.
Fueled by strong winds with gusts up to 85mph (187km/h) and humidity levels as
low as 8%, the fast-moving fire gave residents little time to flee on
Wednesday, causing frenzied evacuations of more than 10,000 people. Roughly
3,500 homes and businesses remain under threat, according to officials.
Many large animals were in need of rescue as well, as equestrian groups
coordinated efforts online to secure trailers and stalls as fairgrounds and
other evacuation areas filled.
The Santa Anas, warm, dry winds that typically whip through southern California
this time of year, were not unexpected. But back-to-back years of strong rainy
seasons seeded these landscapes with grasses that turned to tinder after
getting baked in the summer heat. Combined with low humidity and this region’s
natural tendency to burn, the perfect recipe was set for the disaster to
unfold."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
