Los Angeles fire death toll rises to 24 as strong winds expected

While crews have managed to begin containing the largest Los Angeles fires, officials have warned that the incoming wind could lead to “potentially disastrous wind conditions,” with all of Los Angeles County under fire threat.

“Unfortunately, we are back to red flag conditions with some potentially disastrous wind conditions between now and Wednesday, with peak winds expected to occur on Tuesday,” Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin told the BBC.

“Although we are making some progress, the end is not even close yet,” he said.

The National Weather Service has issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” alert for Tuesday, warning of “extreme fire behavior” from 4 a.m. local time to noon Wednesday.

Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley asked residents near evacuation zones to be prepared to flee if an order is issued and to stay off the roads as much as possible so as not to impede traffic. teams.

Despite the dire forecast, all schools except those in mandatory evacuation zones would reopen Monday, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced.

Topanga Canyon resident Alice Husum, 67, told the BBC that a new fire that started in the area overnight was quickly contained, but that she and her neighbors “dread Tuesday,” when the speed is likely of the wind reaches its maximum.

But Husum, who stayed behind despite evacuation orders, notes that the forecast “is a little better than the 100-mile gusts that hit us” earlier in the week.

New fires continued to break out Sunday, threatening communities in the San Fernando Valley and near NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

On Sunday, firefighters were able to quickly stop the spread of new fires in the Angeles National Forest, which surrounds the facility at the heart of the US space program and containing top-secret technology.