With fire crews slowly making progress against a series of devastating Los Angeles wildfires that have claimed at least 10 lives, Santa Ana winds will buffet the region for one more day Friday with an anticipated weekend drop-off, but another bout of powerful gusts is expected to blast the area again early next week.
Red flag warnings of critical fire danger will be in place for much of the L.A. area through 6 p.m. Friday, affecting the Santa Clarita Valley, Malibu Coast, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Mountains, San Gabriel Valley and the Golden State (5) and Antelope Valley (14) freeway corridors.
Forecasters said those areas could see north to northeast winds of 20 to 35 mph, with gusts of 35 to 55 mph in wind-prone areas.
The Los Angeles County inland coastal area, stretching into downtown, will also be under a red flag warning until 6 p.m. Friday, with winds of 15 to 25 mph anticipated, along with gusts of up to 35 mph -- possibly reaching 45 mph in the Hollywood Hills.
According to the National Weather Service, some mountain areas and the Santa Clarita Valley could potentially see gusts as high as 65 mph Friday morning, with some isolated gusts of up to 75 mph in the San Gabriels and western Santa Monica Mountains.
"The offshore winds are expected to diminish on Friday afternoon, with an onshore wind shift likely across many coastal and coastal valley areas," according to the NWS.
Forecasters said the offshore winds will significantly weaken on Saturday, but "an extended period of elevated to potentially critical fire weather conditions are in the forecast for Sunday through Wednesday due to moderate to locally strong offshore winds, likely peaking on Tuesday."
Forecasters noted that the winds are combining with humidity levels of just 7% to 15% to create dangerous conditions for wildfires.
The winds were fueling multiple brush fires in the L.A. area, the largest being the roughly 20,000-acre blaze in Pacific Palisades that has killed at least two people.
Another massive brush fire in the Eaton Canyon area above Altadena has claimed at least five lives. Additional blazes flared this week in Sylmar, Acton, the Hollywood Hills, West Hills and Studio City.
The Associated Press, citing the county medical examiner, reported late Thursday that 10 people had died in the fires so far.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna declined on Thursday to provide more specific updates on possible fatalities, saying he was "not satisfied with some of the information" he was receiving.
"At one point we'll be able to do a more thorough search of these impacted areas -- some of them look like a bomb was dropped on them -- where we will be able to bring in canines and other things to help us hopefully not discover too many fatalities," Luna said. "That's our priority. But this is a crisis and we don't know what to expect but we're ready for everything."
Cal Fire officials said Thursday an aerial survey of the Palisades Fire determined that more than 5,300 structures had been damaged or destroyed, while county Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at least 4,000 to 5,000 structures had been damaged or destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
AccuWeather, which on Wednesday estimated that the total damage and economic loss from the fires would be between $52 billion and $57 billion, issued a revision on Thursday, raising the estimate to between $135 billion and $150 billion. Such a cost would make it "one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement.
According to Luna, nearly 180,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders due to the various wildfires, and another 200,000 were under evacuation warnings.
Luna said the county plans to implement a curfew for burn-scar evacuation areas that will be in effect nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., in an effort to deter looting. Twenty people had been arrested as of Thursday for allegedly trying to loot homes in the burn areas. The curfew could be in place by Friday night.
The California National Guard was being deployed to the Los Angeles area. Luna said Guard members will be deployed to the area to assist with traffic control, patrols and other duties.
President Joe Biden approved a Major Disaster declaration for the state on Wednesday in response to the fires -- some of which he was able to witness firsthand while wrapping up a short visit to the L.A. area. He received a briefing from fire officials before he left the Southland Wednesday afternoon.
During a fire briefing at the White House Thursday, Biden announced that federal assistance that was previously approved to help pay for the costs of the firefighting efforts and recovery -- which normally covers only 75% of expenses -- will now cover 100% of costs for 180 days.
As is standard during high-fire-danger conditions, Southern California Edison customers in some areas could have their power turned off under the utility's Public Safety Power Shutoffs program. The program is designed to de- energize power lines that could potentially be damaged and spark a wildfire during red flag conditions.
As of early Thursday afternoon, more than 35,000 SCE customers in Los Angeles County had their power cut due to the program, along with more than 2,000 in Orange County. Another 124,000 customers in Los Angeles County were under consideration for power cuts, along with nearly more than 35,000 in Orange County.
Updated information about power cuts is available at www.sce.com/outage-center/outage-information/psps.
The city of Los Angeles imposed red flag parking restrictions at 8 a.m. Tuesday, continuing until further notice, likely for the duration of the wind event. The restrictions are designed to keep streets clear for emergency vehicles that may need to quickly access developing wildfires, and to ensure open roadways for residents who may need to evacuate. Pasadena city officials implemented similar parking restrictions.
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