Major wildfires in southern California are forcing mass evacuations in the Los Angeles area.
In what has become the largest fire of the year thus far, the northern Los Angeles County fire continued to burn on Monday night as it headed southeast toward Pyramid Lake. It’s scorched more than 15,000 acres so far.
The Post fire, as it’s being called, was only 20% contained as of 7:34 p.m. Monday night. Part of the problem of stopping the fire is that it was burning land that was hard to reach on steep ground.
It was threatening many homes and infrastructure that includes oil pipelines, dams and power lines, according to an update posted on the website of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
On Monday night, officials cautioned that there would be heavy smoke from the fire that could make it challenging for drivers to see while they’re driving on the 5 Freeway north of Santa Clarita and south of Gorman.
Many residents of nearby communities including Santa Clarita, Piru and Castaic were also expected to experience some smoke.
In the update, officials said that firefighters would be focusing on reinforcing and building fire lines set up around the fire’s perimeter. Air tankers and helicopters, meanwhile, would attempt to slow the advance of the fire by dousing hot spots if conditions allowed them to do so.
Officials in LA County said that low humidity and high temperatures were predicted for the next few days, which is a bad combination for firefighters who are attempting to battle the flames.
With not much moisture in the air and with the heat being so bad, much of the vegetation is dried out, which is making it easier for the fire to rage on. In addition, gusts of wind could get as high as 55 mph, which further complicates the efforts to fight the fire.
It’s expected that the Post fire could push much deeper into wilderness and forested areas should the winds from the northeast continue to intensify. Fire officials said it’s even possible that small pieces of grass and leaves that were burning could be carried as much as three-quarters of a mile, and then start another fire somewhere else.
As meteorologist Ariel Cohen, of the National Weather Service, said:
“Conditions have continued to support the rapid spread of the wildfire.”
Red flag warnings — the most serious alert for potentially dangerous conditions for fires — were put in place for much of Tuesday in the area. Similar warnings were issued for large swaths of inland communities, as the winds could carry “the potential for rapid fire spread” that could go from the northern Sacramento Valley through the Antelope Valley.
More than 20 different fires were sparked in California since just last Saturday, and they have burned more than 20,000 acres total, according to the website for Cal Fire.
Many of these fires have forced evacuations and also caused damage to buildings.