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Los Angeles was bracing Monday for near “hurricane force” winds that weather forecasters warned could fan devastating wildfires sweeping Southern California as damage estimates mounted.
As firefighters struggled to contain deadly blazes that continued to rage in the suburbs of the United States’ second-largest city, the National Weather Service issued a “red flag” warning over deteriorating conditions.
Winds of up to 75 miles per hour are expected to hit the region Monday evening through Wednesday morning, according to the NWS, combining with extremely dry conditions to create “critical fire weather.”
“The National Weather Service is forecasting winds near hurricane force, and so we are making urgent preparations,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Monday. “My top priority, and everyone else’s, is to do everything we can to protect lives as these winds approach.”
Authorities have been battling fires since last Tuesday that have burned more than 40,000 acres of land. California Governor Gavin Newsom warned the fires could become the costliest disaster in US history, as he clashed with President-elect Donald Trump over the state’s response.
The cause of the fires has not yet been determined, but several lawsuits were filed Monday against utility Southern California Edison, alleging it failed to properly cut power lines despite warnings, leading to when the Eaton fire broke out.
Shares of its parent company Edison International fell 11.9 percent on Monday. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Insurance stocks were also affected by the increase in anticipated damages. JPMorgan analysts estimated industry-wide losses at about $20 billion, which would be the largest in state history.
The largest of the outbreaks, the Pacific Palisades fire, was only 14% contained as of Monday evening, raising fears that strong gusts in the coming days could reverse progress in fighting the fires.
The weather service warned that “extreme fire danger” would persist through Wednesday and said the alert category in place – a “particularly dangerous situation warning” – was reserved for “extreme fire weather scenarios “.
“In other words, this situation is as bad as it gets,” the NWS warned, warning that powerful winds could create “explosive fire growth.”
The death toll reached 24 on Monday, authorities said, and was expected to rise as authorities search the rubble for missing people.
The disaster spilled over into the political arena, with Trump attacking state authorities on Sunday for failing to stop the destruction. “The fires are still raging in Los Angeles. The incompetent Poles don’t know how to put them out,” he posted on his Truth Social network.
The new Republican president accused California’s governor, a Democrat, of depleting water supplies to protect an endangered fish species and refusing to sign a “water restoration declaration.” Newsom’s office said no such statement existed.
“I think this misinformation and disinformation doesn’t benefit or help any of us,” Newsom told NBC. Meet the press Sunday, stressing that he had invited the president-elect to visit the affected areas but had not yet received a response. “We would spend another month responding to Donald Trump’s insults.”
Meanwhile, city officials warned of scammers who raised prices on rental properties as thousands of people fled their homes.
LAist, a local news site, found a Zillow listing for a furnished home in Bel Air costing $29,500 a month, 86 percent more than in September.
Cartography by Steven Bernard
