In the past few days, there have been several wildfires in San Diego County, California, triggering mandatory evacuation orders. Luckily, most of the fires were quickly brought under control. The National Weather Service issued another round of high fire danger “red flag warning” starting from January 22nd until Friday, January 24th at 10 a.m. However, meteorologists say that the rain expected over the weekend will help alleviate the fire situation.
Meteorologist Stefanie Sullivan from the National Weather Service San Diego station told Dajiyuan that there will be light rain in Southern California, including San Diego County, over the weekend of January 25-26th. This is expected to put an end to the high fire-danger weather.
Sullivan explained that the past week in San Diego has been exceptionally dry with relative humidity ranging only from 3% to 6%, which is unusual. Normally, there would have been rainfall in January increasing the humidity.
She went on to explain that the Santa Ana winds usually occur in October when temperatures are higher, resulting in extremely dry weather. This is also the time when the fire danger is high.
While Santa Ana winds can occur in January as well, typically there would be winter storms at this time to offset its effects. However, this January has seen a lack of rainfall, coupled with the prolonged duration of the Santa Ana winds and abnormal weather patterns, leading to the current extremely low humidity levels and increased fire risk.
The good news is that Sullivan mentioned that after the weekend rain, the weather will return to normal next week without any specific danger warnings.
Strong winds and extremely low humidity significantly increase the risk of wildfires. The fire department stated that once a fire breaks out, there is a high likelihood of it escalating into a destructive blaze. The recent wildfires ravaging Los Angeles in the past few weeks have left the people and officials in San Diego on edge regarding the fire situation. Fortunately, the fires in San Diego over the past few days were all brought under control by the evening of January 23rd.
On January 23rd, at 2:30 p.m., a brush fire broke out in the University Town Center (UTC) area of San Diego near Gilman Drive and Via Alicante. The fire led to mandatory evacuation orders. However, the nearby University of California, San Diego campus was unaffected. By 3:30 p.m., the fire was under control, and the evacuation order was lifted.
At 2:15 p.m. on the same day, a large fire broke out in the Otay Mountain area in the southern border region, dubbed the Border 2 Fire. By the evening, it had burned 600 acres with a containment rate of 0%.
On the morning of January 22nd, a brush fire erupted in Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego, near the intersection of Bernardo Center Drive and Camino Del Norte. The fire led to mandatory evacuations. Firefighters managed to control the blaze after over two hours. By 12:30 p.m., most evacuation orders were lifted, and by 4 p.m., all evacuation orders were rescinded.
Shortly after noon on January 21st, a brush fire broke out in Mission Valley area of San Diego, located on Friars Road, known as the Friars Fire. With dense residential and commercial areas nearby, the San Diego Fire Department managed to control the fire within an hour and a half, and by 3:45 p.m., all evacuation orders were canceled.
Just past midnight on January 21st, a brush fire erupted in the Bonsall area in the northern part of San Diego County, named the Lilac Fire. By 8 p.m., the fire was under control, and the evacuation order was lifted. The fire burned 85 acres and was completely extinguished on the 23rd, causing no casualties. Two smaller brush fires occurred within an hour of the Lilac Fire, and they were quickly extinguished as well.
Facing the high fire danger weather, officials remind the public to have crisis plans ready.
The devastating Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire that broke out in affluent areas on the west coast of Los Angeles on January 7th brought destruction to those communities. These two fires resulted in at least 27 deaths, over 15,000 homes and other buildings reduced to ashes, and mandatory evacuation orders affecting at least 200,000 people. The fires burned over 40,000 acres, with estimated losses in the billions of dollars.
Both of these fires have been brought under control, with containment rates of 75% for the Palisades Fire and 95% for the Eaton Fire as of January 23rd.
However, the Santa Ana winds and dry weather have sparked new fires. Around 11 a.m. on January 22nd, a new fire known as the Hughes Fire broke out in the northwest part of Los Angeles County. The fire occurred in a sparsely populated area near Castaic Lake, leading to mandatory or warning evacuations for 50,000 people. By the evening of January 23rd, the latest update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that the fire had burned over 10,000 acres, with a containment rate of 36%. There have been no reports of casualties thus far.
Around 8:30 a.m. on January 23rd, a large fire erupted near Hueneme and Laguna roads in Ventura County, adjacent to Los Angeles. This fire, dubbed the Laguna Fire, quickly burned 3 acres, forcing evacuations at California State University Channel Islands campus and nearby communities. However, by around 11 a.m., the fire was brought under control. By midday, mandatory evacuations were downgraded to warnings. By evening, the fire had spread to 50 acres, with a 70% containment rate.