Southern California Fuel Wildfire Threats For 17 Million People

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Over 70,000 homes and businesses in Southern Calfornia were out of power on Thanksgiving as the region continues to handle dry conditions and high winds.

In response to the 70 mph winds in areas, the National Weather Service placed red flag warnings for multiple counties like San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura. That action affected over 17 million people.

It makes sense though as these warnings are raised when areas experience conditions that are prime for sparking and expanding fires. Paired with the winds, those fires could spread quickly if not contained. The low humidity and the warm temperatures can also contribute to this too.

Already you can see that in areas like Pacolma which has 74 mph winds and Sylmar having some brush fires which required firefighter crews to quell them.

Power Outages

Before the Thanksgiving weekend, about 50,000 customers didn't have power. Electric companies in certain areas were also cutting off power as well as power lines falling and sparking wildfires was a possibility due to the high winds. A lot of those cutoffs were in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles.

North Hollywood also had strong winds that toppled trees through roofs and cause other damage. Downed trees in various neighborhoods are a likely occurrence due to the strong winds, making it fair for power companies to be firm in their decision to cut off power.

Wildfire Season

The wildfire season in South Carolina has also been devastating this year with 8,367 blazes having occurred. The amount managed to scorch over 3 million acres in the process. These fires have been exacerbated by climate change which creates hotter and drier conditions which are perfect kindling for fires.