The season's first Santa Ana event
A moderate-to-strong Santa Ana wind event brought several wildfires to Southern California this week, forcing evacuation orders and closing roads in Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside counties.
The Bryson Fire broke out near Mulholland Highway and Encinal Canyon Road west of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon. Officials first put it at about 35 acres, then mapped it at roughly 100 acres with no containment by the evening. About 115 personnel were assigned, with aircraft working the flanks. Evacuation warnings were issued through the Genasys Protect system. No structures were reported threatened and no injuries were reported.
Camp Pendleton and Azusa
The Henderson Fire started at 14:35 local time near Henderson Street and Brown Street at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. The base fire department had jurisdiction, and CAL FIRE reported the fire at 568 hectares, or about 1,404 acres, by that evening.
North of Los Angeles, the Peak Fire burned near San Gabriel Canyon Road and Mirador Drive close to Azusa. It was mapped at 17.4 hectares, about 43 acres, and 41% contained by 19:43 local time, under unified command involving the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service.
Why October is the dangerous month
Santa Ana winds blow from the interior towards the coast, drying vegetation and pushing fires downhill into populated areas. The red flag warning covering most valleys and coasts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties was set to expire at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The fires come as the region's rainy season has yet to begin and as a record-strength El Nino builds in the Pacific, a pattern that has already pushed sea levels about a foot above normal along the Southern California coast. For fire managers, the combination means the window between wind events is short and the fuel is dry.
Forecasters were watching for the winds to ease over the weekend, which would let crews build containment lines before the next event. Until then, the advice to residents in the warning areas was the usual one: have a bag packed, keep phones charged and leave early if an order comes.