By Chris Boyette and Michelle Watson, CNN
(CNN) — Crews continued making progress battling the deadly infernos burning in Los Angeles County during a brief reprieve from dangerous fire weather over the weekend, but Southern California now is bracing for another round of fire-fueling Santa Ana winds.
“Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warnings are in effect from noon Monday to 10 a.m. PT Tuesday for much of the foothills and mountainous areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including Malibu, meaning prevailing conditions including low humidity and strong winds will increase the risk of fire, the National Weather Service warned.
“Along with the extremely dry fuels, this will create a high risk for critical fire weather conditions and rapid fire spread with any new fires,” the Weather Service said Sunday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the mobilization of “more than 130 fire engines, water tenders, and aircraft to Southern California,” a release from his office said Sunday.
Making matters worse, nearly all of Southern California is in severe drought and no rain is in the forecast for this week.
The red flag warnings cover most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to the weather service, and come as questions are raised about the local response to the disaster, and whether the Los Angeles Fire Department was properly prepared.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faces fierce criticism for the timing of an overseas trip and budget cuts made months ago affecting the fire department.
While the winds expected late Monday into Tuesday are lower than previous recent wind events, the likely 25 to 40 mph winds could include gusts of up to 100 mph in the mountains and foothills and 50 to 70 mph in the valleys and on the coast.
The Palisades Fire, which has burned 23,713 acres, was 56% contained, and the Eaton Fire was 81% contained at 14,021 acres, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Sunday.
At least 27 people have died and thousands of homes have been destroyed in the wildfires, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner and fire officials. Approximately 41,000 people remained under an evacuation order or warning in Los Angeles County on Saturday, the sheriff’s department said.
Several areas previously under evacuation orders reopened to residents, but many others are still waiting to be allowed to return to their homes to survey damage, retrieve necessities, figure out what their insured losses are and assess what can be salvaged of their remaining property.
Evacuation orders were lifted in portions of hard-hit Altadena, according to a Sunday release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
But many residents will have to wait at least another week before it’s safe to return, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Thursday.
“There’s this extreme level of frustration,” University of California, Merced professor and wildfire researcher Crystal Kolden said.
“But that frustration … it is really a function of trying to keep them safe.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has already provided more than $32 million to wildfire survivors, spokesperson Michael Hart said Sunday.
Pasadena will implement red flag parking restrictions beginning Monday, the city said in a release Sunday. The parking restrictions will “allow for improved fire department access and resident evacuation,” on the “narrow and/or winding roads within Pasadena’s urban-wildland interface areas,” the city said.
“We don’t want to scare people, we just want them prepared,” Lisa Derderian, public information officer for the city, told CNN Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a windblown dust and ash advisory due to the strong winds and the particles left behind by the fires.
Fire chief warned leaders of ‘weakness’ in the city’s ability to fight wildfires
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley warned the city’s board of fire commissioners two years ago the lack of a regularly staffed wildland “hand crew” could be problematic if not addressed.
“Without this resource methodically creating and supporting fire line on a wildland fire, weakness in the line can mean the difference in containment or out of control spread,” Crowley wrote in a January 5, 2023, memo first reported by The Washington Post.
Los Angeles only has a volunteer, part-time, mostly teenage hand crew, according to the Post, who use axes, shovels and chain saws to stop wildfires spreading.
As flames advanced on homes in the Pacific Palisades last week, there was no professional Los Angeles Fire Department unit ready to take on the initial attack, the newspaper reported. Crews from Los Angeles County and the state of California were the first to reach the Palisades Fire that erupted January 7.
CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department for comment on the memo.
“The Mayor quadrupled the allocation for wildland hand crews – fully resourcing our LAFD has always been a priority for the Administration, and with climate change getting worse every year we’re accelerating these efforts to protect Angelenos,” Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said in a statement to CNN on Saturday.
A CNN analysis of the most recent data from the 10 largest US cities and other comparable departments shows the LAFD is less staffed than almost any other major city.
CNN’s Robert Shackelford, Sarah Dewberry and Angela Fritz contributed to this report.
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