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A fire that erupted in Southern California prompted the evacuation of thousands of people as flames grew overnight to 2,200 acres by Tuesday. Gusty Santa Ana winds and low relative humidity created ideal conditions for the fire to spread, fire officials said.
The Highland Fire, first reported in Aguanga, Calif., midday Monday, has remained completely uncontained since it started. Evacuation orders have gradually expanded as the flames spread. Some 1,139 homes, representing an estimated 4,000 residents, were ordered to evacuate as of 10 p.m. Monday night, according to April Newman, a spokesperson from the Riverside Fire Department. About 489 homes, or roughly 1,700 people, were under evacuation warnings. By Tuesday morning, officials had also expanded the evacuation orders to include four more areas in the region.
Throughout California, fires have burned through nearly 316,000 acres so far this year, compared with a five-year average of 1.57 million acres by the same point.
Some had hoped the dampening effects of heavy rains earlier this year might help keep this year’s relatively mild wildfire season tame. Still, others were concerned that new brush that had grown as a result could fuel future fires. Erika Novak had those concerns. Now there is a fire raging 10 minutes south of her home.
“We’ve been concerned about fires. Once everything started sprouting up, because it’s an unprecedented wet year, it was already a concern,” said Novak, who lives on 20 acres of land with nearly 60 animals. “When you have more rain, we have more brush, so when we have wetter seasons it’s more alerting and concerning.”
Novak prays that the winds continue to blow the fire away from her ranch.
Maggie Cline De La Rosa, a spokesperson with the Riverside County Fire Department, described the blaze as a wind-driven fire, fueled by 20-30 mph gusts. The National Weather Service reported gusts as high as 85 mph in the mountains of Southern California.
The Santa Ana winds are expected to continue in the area Tuesday, but the Weather Service predicted that they would slowly ease.
Elsewhere in southern California, A red flag warning, for dangerous fire weather conditions, remained in effect until 2 p.m. local time Tuesday for portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The Weather Service said gusts up to 45 mph and low humidity could cause any blazes to spread quickly, but that breezes would become “more localized and less extreme” late Tuesday into Wednesday.
Seasonal Santa Ana winds create dry gusts that flow from east to west in California’s southern mountains, helping the spread of wildfires. The winds are often responsible for the state’s most serious wildfires.
“When you have extreme winds with low moisture, low humidity, then that’s prone to be fire weather, so that’s what we’re experiencing out there,” Newman told The Washington Post. Despite incessant rain and heavy snowfall throughout the year, warmer temperatures dried out new vegetation and created kindling for wildfires, she said.
Cline De La Rosa said flames completely destroyed three structures and damaged another six.
Fire officials had not reported any fatalities or injuries as of Monday night.
“Our goal today is to use our full aircraft that that we have coming as well as hundreds of firefighters on the ground,” Cline De La Rosa said in an update. The department thinks that they have adequate resources to contain the fire, Cline De La Rosa said.
Officials set up a reception and care center at Great Oak High School in Temecula. Residents can drop off large and small animals at an animal shelter in San Jacinto, Cal Fire said.
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
Source link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/31/california-highland-fire-evacuation-update/