What started the LA wildfires and why does California get so many?
California no longer has a fire season, state governor Gavin Newsom said, as the latest blaze raged across Los Angeles. The governor said fire season is now ‘year-round’.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated after flames quickly engulfed huge swathes of the Pacific Palisades area and the Hollywood Hills in a matter of hours this week.
And suspected arsonists have been arrested for starting further fires, with one arrested by a group of citizens when he was spotted holding a propane tank.
Photos and video footage show entire neighbourhoods ablaze under skies tinted orange and black.
The causes of all of the wildfires are under investigation, but thousands of buildings have been destroyed and the economic damage caused by the fires is estimated to have exceeded $150 billion.
Follow the latest news on the Los Angeles wildfires on our live blog
Speaking of the wildfires, Newsom said: ‘This time of year traditionally has not been fire season, but now, we disabuse any notion that there is a season.
‘It’s year-round in the state of California.’
What caused the LA wildfires?
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season.
Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches of rain since early May.
Santa Anas are dry, warm and gusty northeast winds that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, moving in the opposite direction of the normal onshore flow that carries moist air from the Pacific into the region.
Humidity levels often plunge to single-digit percentages during a Santa Ana wind.
The extreme lack of humidity in the air causes vegetation — living and dead — to significantly dry out and become susceptible to fire.
The tremendous wind speeds can stoke any spark into a rapidly spreading conflagration.
Santa Anas are linked to some of the worst wildfires Southern California has experienced.
Why are there so many wildfires in California?
The first key ingredient is the climate.
Nine of the state’s 10 largest wildfires on record have been in the past decade.
Warmer temperatures and a lack of rainfall dries out the endless acres of vegetation to such a degree it becomes the perfect kindling.
Then all it takes is a spark.
That can be ignited by people, by accidental things like downed power lines or natural events like lightning strikes.
What insurance can people living there take out?
The 2018 fire in Paradise, California, killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes, and some residents have struggled to find home insurance since.
Steve Crowder, the town’s mayor, lost his house and business. Since then, his family has rebuilt their home but struggled to find insurance.
Major insurers like State Farm and Allstate have stopped writing new policies in California due to fears of massive losses from wildfires and other natural disasters.
The Crowders were forced to enroll in FAIR Plan last month, which often serves as the last resort when insurance companies stop providing coverage for those living in areas threatened by wildfires.
Despite paying roughly $5,000, the mayor said his home is insured for roughly $100,000 less than its value and the house’s contents are only half-covered.
‘You couldn’t rebuild what you got for what it’s insured for,’ he said.
His constituents face similar problems. With policies skyrocketing from roughly $1,200 annually before the Camp Fire to $5,000 now — or even up to $20,000 a year for large homes — some have abandoned attempts to find coverage altogether.
What happens next?
The worst could be yet to come.
The winds are expected to continue for days, producing isolated gusts that could top 100mph in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.
‘By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,’ Newsom warned residents.
California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said: ‘Forecasts indicate that above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation will persist through February, sustaining elevated fire risk, particularly in Southern California.’
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