The weather …
Extraordinarily sustained winter fire weather episode continues in SoCal through Saturday, but dramatic shift to come
“Southern California is now well into its driest start to the ostensible “rainy season” on record, and this week we’ve been topping things off with single-digit humidity and balmily warm temperatures. Moderate to strong offshore wind conditions have continued periodically since early January, though have not eclipsed the (extreme) Jan 7-8 event. Nonetheless, there has been a steading an increasing pace of additional wildfire activity throughout Southern California and also Baja California; most of these fires have remained on the smaller side but several have escaped initial control to burn thousands of acres and force substantial evacuations in new areas not originally affected by the early January fires. For its part, Northern California has been drying out too–though here there is still the beneficial legacy of the (extremely) wet start to the season back in Oct-Dec and so soil/vegetation conditions are far from critically dry. Even here, though, there have been some small and slow-moving vegetation fires in recent days; not especially surprising considering from a wildfire risk perspective compared to southern CA, but a testament to how much things have changed since the record-breaking atmospheric river events back in late 2024 in the very same region. … ” Read more from Weather West.
SoCal to see weekend rain and mountain snow. Here’s the timeline
“Southern California is making the switch from red flag conditions to rainfall this weekend with showers, mountain snow and a big cool down, prompting concerns over debris flow and mudslides. Rain is expected Saturday and Sunday, bringing a quarter to half an inch of rain to the area. Rain is also expected Monday. The Palisades Fire area can expect close to an inch of rain through Monday, while the Eaton Fire area could see about an inch and a half during the three-day period. A flood watch will be in effect Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon for parts of Southern California, including the Palisades and Eaton burn scar areas. … ” Read more from ABC 7.
How much rain is coming to Southern California this weekend?
“A storm is brewing and will deliver much-needed soaking rain to wildfire-ravaged Southern California, snow to the mountains and rain and snow to many areas in the southwestern United States, AccuWeather meteorologists say. “Despite being smack in the middle of the rainy season, brush conditions over Southern California are currently as dry as they ever get in the summer (the dry season),” AccuWeather California Expert Ken Clark said. “So when you throw dry air and Santa Ana winds into the mix, you have prime ingredients for wildfires.” The Hughes Fire, located northwest of Los Angeles, was the latest large blaze to ignite and rapidly ramp up amid dry and windy conditions. Tens of thousands were forced to evacuate shortly after it broke out on Wednesday. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
Risk of debris flows …
LA braces for mudslides as rain moves in. What we know about the risks
“With rain finally on the way this weekend, debris flows are a real concern below steep, recently burned areas. Just how much water, rock, mud and other debris can flow will depend on how much rain falls in a short period. Rain is expected to stick around from Saturday through Monday, though the period of greatest risk will be between 4 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. Monday. That’s when the heaviest precipitation is expected to fall, according to the National Weather Service. While 0.25 inches an hour is likely across the broader region, isolated thunderstorms could drop more than 0.5 inches an hour, exceeding the threshold of concern for debris flows. Anticipate problems if rainfall rates exceed a quarter-inch in 15 minutes, especially in mountainous areas. … ” Read more from the LAist.
Wildfire burn scars could trigger another natural disaster in Southern California
“Wildfires can decimate thousands of acres in a matter of hours, laying waste to huge swaths of land and destroying virtually everything in their path. However, when the flames are extinguished and the dust settles, the region can be at a higher risk of another natural disaster. Areas scorched by wildfires are called burn scars–charred earth that is suddenly devoid of healthy, living plants, and these two ingredients can set the stage for a flooding disaster when heavy rain falls. This is the concern across Southern California where rain is in the forecast following the deadly Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, which together burned more than 35,000 acres in the Los Angeles area. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
Floods, landslides are risks as fire-scarred Los Angeles girds for rain
“Areas recently burned by wildfires in Los Angeles County are at some risk for flooding and landslides as Southern California prepares this weekend for its first significant rain of the winter. “The threat is high enough to prepare for the worst-case scenario,” the National Weather Service office in Oxnard said on social media. Forecasters said there is now a 10% to 20% chance of significant flash flooding and debris flow capable of damaging roads and homes in the most vulnerable recently burned areas, namely, the burned areas of the Palisades and Franklin fires around Pacific Palisades and Malibu, the Eaton fire around Altadena and Pasadena, the Hughes fire around Lake Castaic, and the Bridge fire in the Angeles National Forest north of Glendora. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO:
- It Will Finally Rain in Southern California. Cue the Risk of Mudslides, from the New York Times
Trump tours devastation …
Trump tours LA wildfires after threats to withhold aid over water policy, voter ID
“President Donald Trump landed in California on Friday afternoon to tour damage caused by wildfires in Los Angeles on Friday as he continues to feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over his handling of the disaster and federal aid. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were greeted on the tarmac by Newsom. Despite recently sparring over the response, the two shook hands and promised to work together in a cordial exchange. “We’re looking to get something completed, and the way you get it completed is to work together. He’s the governor of the state, and we’re going to get it completed,” Trump said. “They’re going to need a lot of federal help. We’re going to take care of things.” Newsom thanked Trump for being there. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help,” Newsom said. “You were there for us during COVID, I don’t forget that, and I have all the expectations that we’ll be able to work together to get this speedy recovery.” … ” Read more from ABC News.
Trump, Newsom keep it amicable on president’s visit to fire-devastated LA
“President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom temporarily halted their vitriolic war of words as the president arrived in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon to tour the fire-ravaged neighborhoods of the city. Newsom, who Trump typically has referred to as “Newscum,” greeted the president warmly as he arrived at LAX, and Trump said he appreciated the governor coming out to meet him. “Tremendous numbers of lives have been affected, a lot of real estate has been affected” Trump said at a brief press conference on the tarmac. “Nobody has probably seen anything like this almost since World War II.” He added: “We’re going to get it fixed.” Trump’s remarks were considerable more toned-down than those he made earlier in the day when he visited North Carolina to tour damage from Hurricane Helene that caused catastrophic in the southeastern U.S. last September. There he suggested he might eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Visiting L.A. after firestorm, Trump focuses on overhauling California water policy
“During a visit to Los Angeles burn areas Friday, President Trump sought to convince California officials that the state’s system of water management needs a dramatic overhaul. Trump announced that he was set to approve an executive order “to open up the pumps and valves in the north.” “We want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible, let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow down into Southern California, and that’ll be a big benefit to you,” he told a gathering of city, county and state officials at Los Angeles Fire Department Station 69 in Pacific Palisades. Experts said Trump’s statements attempting to link the firefighting response and local water supplies to how water is managed in Northern California were inaccurate. Water managers and researchers have said that Southern California’s cities are not currently short of water, and that the region’s reservoirs are at record high levels following plentiful deliveries of supplies in 2023 and 2024. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read more from Yahoo News.
Trump threatened to withhold aid unless California imposes voter ID. Can he do that?
“President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he wanted to see California adopt two policies before he would sign off on federal wildfire aid: Voter ID and an overhaul of its “water flow.” But voters already have to show identification in California before they can vote. And an overhaul of the water flow isn’t that simple. “I want to see two things in Los Angeles: Voter ID, so that the people can have a chance to vote,” Trump said, hours before his scheduled visit to Pacific Palisades to view wildfire damage. “And I want to see the water released, so that it can come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
SEE ALSO:
- Trump’s demand for L.A. recovery dollars? Voter ID, more water flow to Valley, L.A., from the San Joaquin Valley Sun
- Trump LA disaster aid salvo riles California’s delegation, from Politico
- Donald Trump may hold financial aid to California hostage based on misinformation, commentary by Tom Philp at the Sacramento Bee
- The Trump-Newsom feud threatens federal wildfire aid. California needs cooperation, column at the OC Register
- As Trump arrives in L.A., here are the facts, fiction he faces on California’s water, from the San Joaquin Valley Sun
Trump v. Delta smelt …
Whoever smelt it …
“Move over, GAVIN NEWSOM. President DONALD TRUMP has another California nemesis — and it’s a three-inch-long endangered fish. The president, who is en route to Los Angeles Friday afternoon to survey the city’s wildfire damage as part of the first domestic trip of his second term, has consistently blamed the fires’ sweeping devastation on the blue state’s Democratic governor and progressive policies. But he’s also trained his ire on the delta smelt — a silver, minnow-like fish he says is impeding state officials from releasing water from the north to extinguish the flames in the south. “They have all this water, and it’s really good water, up high … and they’re restricting it,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. California’s pipes, the president said, “are bone dry” — and it’s all “to protect the delta smelt, it’s a fish doing poorly anyway. How are you protecting the delta smelt by not giving it water? It’s a fish. It needs water. Nobody can answer that question.” … ” Read more from Politico.
Here’s how a tiny fish became Trump’s favorite weapon in his crusade against California
“What does a 3-inch-long, nearly extinct fish native to California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have to do with fighting California wildfires? Nothing, apart from a need for water. That hasn’t stopped President Donald Trump from taking aim yet again at the endangered delta smelt as he threatens to withhold federal aid from victims of the Los Angeles-area firestorm and attempts to roll back major environmental regulations. Since his inauguration Monday, Trump has blamed protections for the fish on gaps in water access that fueled the devastating Palisades fire. If California were to only open up the giant spigot from the delta to Southern California, he said, all would be fine. After blaming Gov. Gavin Newsom for depriving the region of water to protect the “worthless” fish in a Truth Social post Monday, he repeated the sentiment in an interview with Sean Hannity this week. Trump’s reasoning defies logic. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Lastly … stay out of the ocean
Stay out of the water due to ash, toxins from fires, LA County health officials warn
“The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is again urging residents to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in the ocean because of the debris and ash in the water from fires ravaging the region. “Ash from the Los Angeles fires may enter coastal water through surface water runoff and windblown ash,” an alert sent out by the department on Thursday, Jan. 23, warned. The ash could contain substances such as arsenic, other metals and asbestos, which can be harmful to human health, officials said. The advisory applies to ocean and bay waters from Surfrider Beach to Dockweiler State Beach at World Way. … ” Read more from the LA Daily News.
