The Line Fire, a rampant wildfire in Southern California, has created turmoil for thousands of homeowners and businesses in the area this past Sunday. The blaze, which shot up to over 17,000 acres on Saturday, facilitated the necessity for more than 11,000 people to evacuate. As the exhausting battle against the relentless inferno drags on in the San Bernardino Mountains foothills, it coincide with a perilous heatwave that is projected to last until Monday at least, impacting Southern California alongside other areas in the US southwest.
Christopher Prater, the San Bernardino County Fire public information officer and firefighter, outlined several obstacles impeding their efforts to contain the blaze. Thunderstorms caused erratic wildfire behaviour and strengthened the wind. Furthermore, they had to ground aircraft multiple times on Saturday due to civilian-operated drones. Moreover, with the growing number of wildfires in the Western United States, resources have been considerably depleted.
Interestingly, the fire itself contributed to the adverse weather conditions. Dave Munyan, a meteorologist at the San Diego branch of the National Weather Service, revealed that the fire’s heat generated its own thunderstorms, dubbed a pyrocumulonimbus or fire-induced storm. The escalating temperature from the blaze rises into the air and could spawn additional thunderstorms if sufficient moisture is present. They not only obstruct firefighting efforts but with dry lightning precipitated by such storms might exacerbate the situation by igniting new fires.
The threat of more wildfires is enhanced by the late-summer heatwave escalating the Line fire. On Sunday, regions ranging from the Pacific coast to the mountains northwest of Los Angeles, inclusive of regions in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, were burdened with the National Weather Service’s maximum alert, the red flag warning. This indicates a high risk of extreme fire behaviours due to the ongoing warm climate, heightened winds, and low humidity.
San Bernardino County officials and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection confirmed that the Line fire was initially sparked last Thursday in Highland city, east of Los Angeles.
Flames, fuelled by extreme temperatures in excess of 38 degrees and critically parched vegetation, rapidly advanced towards the San Bernardino Mountains on Saturday. By Sunday, the fire had grown drastically from around 3,800 acres in the morning to well over 17,000 acres according to data from both Cal Fire and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
By Sunday morning, zero progress had been made in containing the blaze, and a staggering 35,000 structures were in peril according to Cal Fire. Whilst investigations into the cause of the fire continue, a Cal Fire spokesperson, Brent Pascua, explained that incredibly intense fire activity had been witnessed on Saturday. He mentioned that the fast-moving blaze would not be aided by the weather forecast.
The significant number of structures potentially in danger include residential homes and commercial businesses subject to evacuation orders and warnings. In addition, some could be affected by sudden shifts in the unpredictable behaviour of the fire, as suggested by Prater.
San Bernardino County, in addition to some parts of Riverside County, are experiencing excessive heat warnings until Monday evening, which are the most serious category of heat alerts. Forecasts from the weather service indicate that daytime temperatures could rise to between 38 to 42 degrees. The lowest night temperatures are not expected to drop below 25 degrees, to the mid-range.
Maintaining control of the blaze on Sunday were in excess of 600 firefighters, however severely sloping ground and inaccessibility hindered their capacity to reach certain areas, according to Cal Fire. Tragically, three firefighters have suffered injuries.
Glen MacDonald, a geography professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that despite the fire’s intensity, the Line fire is not unexpected. He explained that due to two years of heavy rainfall the resultant overgrowth of grasses and leafy shrubs had thrived. This was then followed by a scorching summer, which dried all the vegetation out, creating the ideal fuel for a wildfire. He simply stated: “All you need is an ignition source, and you’re going to have a fire.”
This article was originally published by The New York Times. ©2024 The New York Times Company.