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Firefighters prepare for strong winds that could fuel Los Angeles fire growth

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A beefed-up firefighting force was staged around Los Angeles to attack flare-ups or new blazes and anxious residents prepared for more fire danger as winds began to build Tuesday, a week after two massive infernos destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.

Tabitha Trosen packed the meaningful things in her life and felt she was “teetering” on the edge with the constant fear that her neighborhood could be the next under threat “Our cats are ready to go, we have their carriers by the door prepped with their little stuffed animals and things like that,” Trosen said. “It’s like, how do I take care of myself, and what are the things that will ground me as a human and remind me of my background and my life and my family.”Dry winds gusted early Tuesday to 40 mph (64 kilometers per hour) in coastal and valley areas and 50 miles per hour (80 kph) in the mountains, said meteorologist Todd Hall of the National Weather Service. Gusts up to 65 mph (105 kph) were forecast to continue through midday Wednesday.

The weather service issued a rare warning that the winds combined with severely dry conditions created a “particularly dangerous situation” indicating that any new fire could explode in size. Hall said the conditions could lead to extreme fire behavior that could spread embers 2 to 3 miles (3 to 5 kilometers) ahead of flames or even cause fire tornadoes.

On Monday, planes doused homes and hillsides with bright pink fire-retardant chemicals, while crews and fire engines were placed near particularly vulnerable spots with dry brush. Dozens of additional water trucks rolled in to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week when the two largest fires erupted.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials — who have faced criticism over their initial response to fires that began last week — expressed confidence Monday that the region was ready to face the new threat with scores of additional firefighters brought in from around the U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico.

“We’re absolutely better prepared,” LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said when asked what will be different from a week ago, when hurricane-force winds propelled multiple fires across the parched, brush-filled region that has seen almost no rain in more than eight months.

Although winds were not expected to reach hurricane-force like last week, they could ground firefighting aircraft, Marrone said, warning if winds reach 70 mph (112 kph), “it’s going to be very difficult to contain that fire.”

More than a dozen wildfires have broken out in Southern California since Jan. 1, mostly in the greater Los Angeles area.

The latest started Monday night in a dry riverbed in an agricultural area of Oxnard, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, and tore through tall brush before firefighters stopped its progress, the Ventura County Fire Department said.

A large part of Southern California around Los Angeles is under an extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, including densely populated Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.

Fire officials advised residents in high-risk areas to just leave home — and not wait for formal evacuation orders — if they sense danger.

That’s exactly what Tim Kang of La Crescenta did last Wednesday. Feeling sick from the smoky air and fearful of nearby fires spreading, Kang and his brothers packed up and have stayed away from their neighborhood.

Counting up and investigating the destruction

The fires that began Tuesday north of downtown LA have burned more than 12,000 homes, cars and other structures.

Authorities haven’t determined an official cause for any of the fires. Southern California Edison has acknowledged agencies are investigating whether its equipment may have started a smaller blaze.

A lawsuit filed Monday claims the utility’s equipment sparked the much bigger Eaton Fire. Edison did not respond to a request for comment and last week said it had not received any suggestions that its equipment ignited that blaze.

AccuWeather’s early estimates suggest the fires could be the nation’s costliest ever, topping $250 billion including what’s to come in the next days. The reconstruction cost for commercial and residential properties inside areas with active fires could be $14.8 billion, according to real estate data tracker CoreLogic.

By Associated Press

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