Firefighters today took advantage of good weather to stop the Palisades Fire from expanding further north, as the blaze threatened the upscale Mandeville Canyon and Encino areas of Los Angeles.
Cold Pacific winds are blowing inland from the south-southwest early today in the region, moving north to south as gusts descend from the mountains to the sea, creating warm, dry offshore waters that heat air molecules under pressure. The wind gave firefighters a temporary respite.
“The winds are favorable in this area, so it looks like it’s going to be a very good situation,” California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Christian Ritz said.
He explained that portions of the northeastern contour of the fire near Mandeville Canyon were strengthened with bulldozer lines while the fire was stalled to the north. “We were watching it recede,” Ritts said at a community meeting streamed for public viewing tonight.
The area has been the subject of concern since evacuation orders extended across the 405 Freeway to parts of Bel Air and areas adjacent to the UCLA campus in Westwood. The fire did not spread to the highway.
“That top side is really nice,” Ritz said.
Tomorrow could be another difficult day as the Santa Ana winds that caused devastating fires in Southern California later this week are expected to return overnight.
National Weather Service data tracked the wind tonight as it changed direction and returned to a fearsome offshore direction from the north-northeast. Federal weather forecasters say a red flag warning is in effect for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties tonight, with wind gusts of 50 to 75 mph possible tonight and into tomorrow morning. There is a possibility that it will blow again into the morning.
The National Weather Service’s Oxnard, Calif., office said in a red flag warning message that federal forecasters have “high confidence in the prolonged and significant fire weather conditions.”
A red flag warning warns residents of dangerous fire weather with wind speeds of 20 mph or higher and relative humidity of 25% or less, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
