Los Angeles: The winds across Southern California were fortunately lower on Tuesday than forecast, which helps firefighters in their continued efforts to battle ongoing wildfires.
Widespread wind gusts of 20-40 mph were reported with peaks seeing gusts over 60 mph. Here are the strongest wind gusts Tuesday:
- 74 mph: Magic Mountain in Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains
- 62 mph: Mill Creek in the western San Gabriel Mountains
- 61 mph: Chilao in Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains
- 61 mph: Palo Sola in the eastern Santa Susanna Mountains
- 60 mph: Sandstone Peak in the western Santa Monica Mountains
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles warns that winds will uptick beginning Tuesday overnight and will last through Wednesday. There are currently over 6 million people under critical fire threat Wednesday, which includes the cities of Riverside, San Bernardino, Irvine and Oxnard.
What we know about the California wildfires
- Southern California is braced for “extremely critical fire conditions” caused by a new period of Santa Ana winds today through tomorrow across parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as the battle to contain raging blazes goes on.
- Fanned by strong winds, the wildfires have killed at least 24 people and swept through 40,000 acres in the Greater Los Angeles area, destroying entire communities and more than 12,300 structures.
- The largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, has burned more than 23,000 acres and was only 18% contained this afternoon as it threatened Brentwood, Encino and Westwood.
- Evacuation orders are in effect for 88,000 residents of Los Angeles, and 89,000 are in evacuation warning zones, which means they may need to leave at a moment’s notice. See a map of the evacuation zones here.
- Los Angeles County has declared a public health emergency, warning that smoke and particulate matter could pose immediate and long-term threats. The full warning and a list of recommendations can be found here.
