LA Wildfire: Millions under threat as winds bring fresh wildfire warnings, power outages in Southern California | World News

Millions of Southern Californians are bracing for extremely critical conditions as the wildfires continue to devastate the region for a week, which had already destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 25 people. The National Weather Service has issued an uncommon alert, warning that the combination of dry winds and parched conditions has created a “particularly dangerous situation,” suggesting that any fresh fires could rapidly expand.
The Santa Ana winds, which began sweeping across the mountains before dawn, are expected to persist until Wednesday morning. These powerful gusts possess sufficient strength to transport fire-igniting debris across considerable distances, potentially triggering new blazes in the area.
Weather experts have implemented “particularly dangerous situation” red flag wind warnings from Tuesday until Wednesday noon local time, as wind intensity is predicted to increase. Officials have indicated that the most severe wind conditions are anticipated from late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, with “extremely critical fire weather” expected across portions of the region.

Additional 84,800 people under evacuation orders

At Tuesday’s morning news conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reported that approximately 88,000 residents are under mandatory evacuation orders, whilst an additional 84,800 have received potential evacuation warnings.
Despite the slight reduction in evacuation figures compared to earlier this week, the sheriff stressed that significant risks persist, CBC news reported.

“There is a decrease in these numbers, but as our fire partners have stated: it is very dangerous for the next 24 hours,” Luna said. “So, we are keeping a very close eye.”

Thousands without electricity

On Tuesday morning, PowerOutage.us, a national outage monitoring website, indicated that roughly 85,000 customers in southern California were experiencing power cuts.
The situation could worsen as wind speeds increase throughout the day, potentially requiring utilities to implement preventive power shutoffs to prevent their lines from initiating new fires.

Southern California Edison issued advance notices to approximately 450,000 customers on Monday regarding possible temporary power interruptions due to anticipated strong winds.

Several arrested amid wildfires

Nearly 50 arrests have been made by city and county authorities since last week in connection with wildfire-related offences. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed four individuals were detained between Sunday and Monday night, according to CBC news.
The recent arrests included two curfew breaches and a drone-related incident involving two people. Luna reported that despite Federal Aviation Administration and local authorities’ warnings against flying private drones in Southern California’s fire suppression zones, two drone incidents have occurred since the fires began, leading to three arrests.

County officials have detained 34 individuals during the crisis. LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi confirmed 14 additional arrests within city boundaries as of Monday, encompassing various offences including curfew violations, burglaries, shoplifting, vandalism, impersonating a firefighter and driving whilst intoxicated.
“It’s not just for looting or burglary that you’re going to jail, or curfew,” said Choi. “If you’re in the area and you don’t belong in the area, you will be stopped and questioned. And whatever crime is being committed, you will be held accountable for that. So please stay away from these evacuation areas.”

Support centres established for fire-affected Californians

Two disaster recovery centres have opened, staffed by representatives from FEMA, Small Business Administration, state officials and charitable organisations.
“When we talk about recovery, it’s really a whole community effort,” said Robert J Fenton, Jr., regional administrator for FEMA Region 9, on Tuesday.
The facilities are situated in Pasadena and Los Angeles. Authorities advise residents to submit online aid applications before visiting the centres.
FEMA provides immediate evacuation assistance up to $770, with larger grants of up to $43,600 typically available after insurance settlements. Recipients of maximum FEMA grants may qualify for additional state funding of $10,000, AP news agency reported.
The Small Business Administration offers supplementary low-interest loans beyond insurance and FEMA coverage. Businesses can access loans up to $2 million, whilst homeowners may borrow up to $500,000 for reconstruction and an additional $100,000 for personal belongings.

Newsom accuses Musk of spreading ‘lies’ about state’s response

California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has confronted Elon Musk over allegedly spreading false information about the state’s management of devastating Los Angeles wildfires, intensifying their social media dispute.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief, who is set to advise President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, has joined Trump in intensifying criticism of the governor’s approach to the catastrophic fires, which have claimed 24 lives and forced thousands to evacuate.
Musk utilised his social platform X to attribute the extensive residential destruction in Los Angeles to “bad governance at a state and local level that resulted in a shortage of water.”

“(Musk) exposed by firefighters for his own lies,” Newsom posted late Sunday, sharing video footage where Musk questions a firefighter about water availability.
The firefighter confirmed the presence of water in “several reservoirs,” explaining that large-scale fire operations required additional support from water trucks.
In another weekend disagreement, Newsom challenged Musk’s credibility after the entrepreneur shared an inaccurate post on X claiming that the governor and Democratic colleagues had “decriminalized looting.”
“It’s illegal — as it always has been,” Newsom clarified, addressing concerns about potential looting in evacuation zones.
“Bad actors will be arrested and prosecuted,” he stated.

Firefighters prepare for dry conditions and strong winds

The National Weather Service alerted residents about hazardous conditions, stating that arid winds alongside extremely dry conditions had created a “particularly dangerous situation”, with potential for rapid fire expansion.
On Tuesday morning, coastal and valley regions experienced dry wind speeds reaching 40 mph (64 kilometres per hour), whilst mountain areas saw speeds of 50 miles per hour (80 kph), according to meteorologist Todd Hall from the National Weather Service. Wind gusts were predicted to persist at up to 65 mph (105 kph) until Wednesday afternoon.

An uncommon advisory was released by the weather service, highlighting how the combination of winds and extreme dry conditions had produced a “particularly dangerous situation”. Hall indicated these circumstances could result in severe fire behaviour, potentially dispersing embers across distances of 2 to 3 miles (3 to 5 kilometres) beyond the flames, and possibly generating fire tornadoes.