Wind & Consequences

Let’s get this post written and uploaded while I can, because we are having one of the most extreme windstorms of the past several decades here in Los Angeles. And, of course, one of the first consequences is that the power and internet tend to go on and off and flicker and flutter and then just die. We’ve done the flickering and fluttering, so quickly now…

The other primary consequence, of course, is fire. We’re fine, probably a bit over ten miles from this blaze, and the winds are blowing the embers and ashes away from us. This is the Palisades Fire as of 12:19 this afternoon, an hour or two after it started.

By 15:35 it had really started to spread. We were getting pretty steady winds of 20-30 knots with gusts to 40 knots here on the hill. That’s tossing furniture and crap around the back yard and bringing down some light debris. Down in the canyons on the other side of that ridge they were getting winds and gusts that were twice that.

Around sunset, at 17:21, the smoke was blowing way up the coast past Malibu and out over the ocean. Over 30,000 people were evacuated (now, six hours later, it’s much higher, since they started evacuations in Santa Monica about 19:00), at least dozens (and maybe hundreds) of homes and buildings (including a high school) have been destroyed, the Getty Villa was threatened (there was fire on the grounds, but the buildings and all of the priceless artworks are safe), and there’s 0% containment.

The best part is that the really, really BAD winds are still coming tonight. There’s another big fire in the mountains above Altadena and Pasadena (the Eton Fire) which is forcing even more evacuations and loss of homes, and between the two sites there are expectations that they could see sustained winds tonight of 60-70 knots with gusts as high as 120 knots. That’s going to be just viscious.

Welcome to Southern California. And when they tell you to evacuate, GET OUT!

Me? I’m going to go put a half dozen flashlights in strategic spots around the house, just in case. Stay safe out there!