While the Midwest and East Coast have been dealing with snow and ice storms, the western coast of the United States, namely Los Angeles, has experienced many fires that have destroyed homes around the city.
The cause for the fires is the dry environment that the area around Los Angeles is surrounded by is prone to catching on fire due to high winds.
Over the next few months, the jet stream is to begin, bringing cool and moist conditions with it, which will make the ground and vegetation in the area less likely to catch fire.
The fires have surrounded Los Angeles from all angles with the worst being in the Palisades area, where over 24,000 acres of land have been destroyed.
Photos of the Palisades area taken via aerial cameras have shown approximately 5,000 structures that have been damaged or destroyed due to the blaze.
According to the incidents page on the California State fire department website, only 27% of the fire has been contained, leaving the future of the area and the citizens who live there in the hands of local firefighters.
The Palisades fire likely started in Topanga State Park, a vast canyon filled with small brush and shrubbery that could likely catch on fire. Since the park is mostly open, the 80 mile per hour wind gusts that began the fires allowed it to spread throughout the park.
“California State Parks mourns the loss of these treasured natural and cultural resources, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area,” said State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “Since yesterday afternoon, we are directing all available resources into the emergency response effort and working to secure and protect as much as we can at affected nearby state parks. We are deeply grateful to our parks staff and all partner agencies for their swift actions. Our top priority remains the safety of the public, our employees and the responders bravely battling the fires.”
While the fires in the Palisades continue to go without many signs of stopping, other smaller fires have been contained by local fire departments, such as the Auto Fire.
The Auto fire has affected 61 acres of land in Ventura country, leaving in its wake a burning path of destruction. However, firefighters have mostly contained the Auto, containing about 85% of the blaze.
With the Santa Ana winds that help to cause the spread of the fire dying down, some residents in areas affected by the fires such as Pacific Palisades have been allowed to return to their homes until further notice.
The large scale of the fires has made the fire departments try new methods to calm the infernos, one of which is dumping water from the Pacific Ocean onto the fires in hopes of putting parts of them out.
While the fires are still ongoing, there is hope for the community in unity with neighbors working together to take back their town from these devastating fires.