Residents and travellers continued to be subjected to diverse and devastating climate challenges in the US over the weekend as wildfires raged in California and a winter storm and poler vortex enveloped the South. By far, the worse of the two weather bombs afflicted Los Angeles, where strong winds are threatening to pick up again this week to exacerbate what Gov. Gavin Newsom said could end up being the worst natural disaster in US history.
By Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 160 sq. km., an area larger than San Francisco, as crews battled to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks.
Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters. At least 16 people had died.
Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including firefighters from Canada and Mexico.
With Cal Fire reporting containment of the Palisades Fire at 11% and the Eaton Fire at 15% on Saturday night, the fight is continuing.
“Weather conditions are still critical and another round of strong winds is expected starting Monday,” Traum said.
There were fears that winds could move the fires toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
The fire also threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
Disney donation
Disney said it will donate $15 million to respond to the fires and help rebuild. The company said the money would be spread across several groups, including the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
“Walt Disney came to Los Angeles with little more than his limitless imagination, and it was here that he chose to make his home, pursue his dreams, and create extraordinary storytelling that means so much to so many people around the world. We are proud to provide assistance to this resilient and vibrant community in this moment of need,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.
Ice
Meanwhile, the South was slowly thawing Sunday as warmer weather melted snow and ice caused by after a winter storm winter storm that brought biting cold and wet snow to the US South, leading to school closures and disrupted travel.
The storm piled up more than a year’s worth of snowfall on some cities. As much as 31 cm. fell in parts of Arkansas, and there were reports of nearly 25 cm. in Little Rock, which 9.7 cm. a year. More than 18 cm. fell at Memphis International Airport in Tennessee and the storm also dumped as much as 18 cm. in some spots in central Oklahoma and northern Texas.
The storm was moving out to sea off the East Coast on Saturday, leaving behind a forecast for snow showers in the Appalachian Mountains and New England, but temperatures were expected to plunge after sundown in the South, raising the risk that melting snow will refreeze, turning roadways treacherously glazed with ice.
Major airports, including those in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, continued to report disruptions. By Saturday afternoon about 1,000 flights in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were cancelled or delayed, according to tracking software FlightAware. Security lines in the terminal were also extremely long.
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