Millions of Southern Californians were on edge as winds began to pick up during a latest round of dangerous fire weather forecasts for the region Wednesday where two huge fires took place at least 25 killed and destroyed thousands of houses.
The day after firefighters were given a reprieve with lighter winds than expected, gusts reached up to 35 mph (56 kph) on the coast and valleys and 55 mph (88 kph) in the mountains before sunrise, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall said.
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About 40,000 people have applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has already paid out more than $8 million for immediate needs such as water, food, baby formula and gasoline. The first money will go directly to bank accounts, FEMA Regional Administrator Robert J. Fenton, Jr. said. Tuesday, denying misinformation about vouchers.
President Joe Biden did say the federal government would pay 100% of firefighting and recovery costs in the first 180 days. But that doesn’t mean FEMA will cover 100% of individual families’ costs; the maximum amount FEMA can provide is $43,600, Fenton said.
Representatives from FEMA, the Small Business Administration, the state and several charities gathered to explain the process at a disaster recovery center at UCLA Research Park West and Pasadena City College Community Education Center.
FEMA is offering up to $770 to help cover evacuees’ immediate needs, but the larger grants are generally only available after insurance companies pay out. Someone who receives a maximum grant from FEMA may be eligible for an additional $10,000 grant from the state.
For other needs beyond what insurance and FEMA cover, the Small Business Administration offers low-interest loans: businesses can borrow up to $2 million, while homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 for reconstruction and another $100,000 for personal property.
As if they aren’t confronted enough already, firefighters in California can also encounter fire tornadoes – a rare but dangerous phenomenon in which wildfires create their own weather.
The National Weather Service warned Tuesday that the combination of high winds and extremely dry conditions has created a “particularly dangerous situation” in which any new fire could explode in size. The advisory, which runs Wednesday, made no mention of tornadoes, but meteorologist Todd Hall said they are possible given the extreme conditions.
▶ Read more about the threat of fire tornadoes
When the Palisades Fire broke out in Los Angeles last Tuesday, awards season in Hollywood was in full swing. The Golden Globes had occurred less than 48 hours earlier and a series of spectacular awards banquets followed in the following days.
But the sheer scale of the destruction in Southern California quickly wiped out any festivities in the film industry’s peak season. At one point, the flames even reached the hill above the Dolby Theater, home of the Academy Awards.
The fires have struck the core of a film industry still trying to stabilize itself after years of pandemic, labor unrest and technological upheaval. Not for the first time this decade, the Oscars are confronted with the question: should the show go on? And if so, what do they mean now?
The Oscars will remain as planned, but it is certain that they will be transformed as a result of the bushfires, and most of the red carpet splendor that stretches between now and then will be shortened or even canceled altogether. With so many left without homes by the fires, there is little appetite for the usual self-congratulatory parades of the season.
▶ Read more about what the impact of the forest fires means for the awards season
As California’s massive wildfires rage, a barrage of GoFundMe campaigns for victims have become an outlet for onlookers fascinated by the blazes and eager to do something to help. These calls for help – plastered with photos of saffron flames or the aftermath of charcoal or, above all, the faces of the people at the center of the plea – personalize a tragedy too great to comprehend.
“I feel strangely connected to all these people I don’t know,” says Rachel Davies, a 27-year-old writer from New York who has experienced hundreds of wildfire GoFundMe campaigns and has been drawn to stories about strangers, donating to fundraisers for landscapers, housekeepers and a chef.
Davies was moved by the small details of the victims’ stories – such as the fact that someone lost his home just as he was bringing a baby home from hospital – and compiled and distributed a list from GoFundMe sites, thinking others would feel the same and be urged to donate.
“Those stories,” says Davies, “will stay with me.”
▶ Read more about fundraising for the victims of the forest fires
Millions of Southern Californians were on edge as a final round of dangerous fire weather was forecast for the region on Wednesday, along with a rare warning of an “extremely dangerous situation” for an area near two huge fires have killed at least 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Firefighters got a reprieve Tuesday when winds were unexpectedly light and they were able to make progress battling the two massive fires in the Los Angeles area and quickly extinguish several new blazes.
The Eaton Fire burning just north of Los Angeles and the Palisades Fire that destroyed much of L.A.’s coastal Pacific Palisades neighborhood broke out on Jan. 7 under conditions similar to those expected Wednesday. The high winds of the past week pushed and carried the flames with remarkable speed fire-sparking embers sometimes miles away.
The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings — issued when temperatures are warm, humidity is low and high winds are expected — from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. from the central coast 275 miles (443 kilometers) south to the border with Mexico. The “particularly dangerous situation” applied to an area that includes parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
More than 77,000 homes were left without electricity as utilities cut power to prevent their lines from sparking new fires.
▶ Read more about the dangerous conditions predicted for Wednesday