'This will be another incredibly dangerous week near the fire zones and across much of the Los Angeles region', AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said. Image by gorodenkoff via iStock
People across Southern California are being urged to prepare for additional evacuation orders, as well of the likelihood of more public safety power shutoffs, AccuWeather stated in a media advisory sent to Rigzone by the AccuWeather team today.
The advisory noted that AccuWeather expert meteorologists are warning families, businesses, emergency officials, and fire crews throughout Southern California to prepare for another round of extreme fire risk as stronger Santa Ana winds return to the region on Monday.
"This will be another incredibly dangerous week near the fire zones and across much of the Los Angeles region as stronger wind gusts return - please follow official evacuation orders," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said in the advisory.
"We could face another round of hurricane-force wind gusts in some places this week. Powerful wind gusts could ground some firefighting aircrafts at times, which makes it more difficult for crews to contain wind-driven fires," DaSilva added.
AccuWeather said in the advisory that it is forecasting 60-80 mile per hour wind gusts in areas prone to Santa Ana winds starting Monday through Wednesday morning. AccuWeather expert long-range meteorologists, led by Lead Long Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, predict there are minimal rain chances in the Los Angeles area through the end of January, the advisory stated.
AccuWeather also revealed in the advisory that it has increased its preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss "from the fast-moving, wind-driven infernos burning across Southern California" from $250 billion to $275 billion.
"AccuWeather experts, who have been recognized for their severe weather-related loss analyses for years, preliminarily estimate total damage and economic loss between $250 billion to $275 billion, which is as staggering as it is sobering, due to one of the most destructive fires in modern U.S. history," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in the advisory.
A statement posted on California Governor Gavin Newsom's website on Sunday highlighted that California has mobilized more than 15,000 personnel "to support the ongoing firefight".
Newsom signed a second executive order on Sunday "to support recovery efforts in Los Angeles", the statement pointed out. On January 7, Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency and subsequently issued an executive order "to support communities affected by the ongoing fires", the statement highlighted.
A statement posted on Newsom's website on January 8 noted that U.S. President Joe Biden "quickly approved Governor Gavin Newsom's request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support ongoing response efforts related to the major wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area".
A fact sheet posted on the White House website on January 8 stated that the Biden-Harris administration is taking significant actions to support state and local response efforts for the wildfires in Los Angeles.
"As the fires continue to devastate communities, President Biden is focused on mobilizing life-saving and life-sustaining resources across the region," the fact sheet noted.
"The Biden-Harris administration has been in constant communication with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, their teams, officials from affected counties, and other local officials from the day the fires started," the fact sheet added.
Rigzone has approached the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) - which regulates privately owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation companies - for comment. At the time of writing, CPUC has not yet responded to Rigzone.
According to Poweroutage.us, out of 15,311,375 customers tracked in California, 53,035 customers were without power, as of 11:44am on January 13. PowerOutage.us collects, records, and aggregates live power outage data from utilities all over the United States, with the goal to create the single most reliable and complete source of power outage information available, the site states.