Winter Storm Essentially Extinguishes Greater Los Angeles Wildfires
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Winter Storm Essentially Extinguishes Greater Los Angeles Wildfires

Winter Storm Essentially Extinguishes Greater Los Angeles Wildfires

“Mudslide Season” has officially started.

A winter storm hit southern California, extinguishing most of the wildfires in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Though “mudslide” season has officially started, these rains were much-needed for fire suppression and caused only a few road closures and minor traffic incidents.

A weekend storm in Los Angeles helped tamp down the most damaging wildfires in California history, but it also brought flooding and mudslides that have shut down highways and schools and left emergency vehicles stuck in the mud.

The first significant rainfall in months doused Los Angeles city and county, with more than an inch of rain falling on parts of the northern hills in and around the burn zones.

But the area’s scorched, ash-covered soil then washed down the hillsides, covering roadways in mud and leaving helpless drivers — including those in emergency vehicles — trapped.

At least one fire truck battling the Palisades Fire had to be rescued from the muck, a video from Fox Weather shows, and emergency crews were forced to use a bulldozer to dig out four vehicles trapped on a highway in Woodland Hills just north of the fire.

Presently, the three major conflagrations that we reported on (Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes Fires) are all well over 90% contained. These fires are truly historic:

  • At least 28 people have lost their lives due to the wildfires.
  • More than 200,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes.
  • Over 16,000 structures have been affected, either damaged or destroyed.

The estimated total economic loss from the blazes has ballooned to more than $250 billion, making it one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history.

The combined area impacted by the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires totals approximately 62 square miles, which is larger than the city of San Francisco.

The Eaton Fire has become the most lethal and destructive wildfire in the history of southern California, followed closely by the Palisades Fire as the second most devastating. The Hughes Fire had the potential to go “nuclear”, but a quick-fire response paired with a break in the weather stopped a bad situation from becoming worse.

The following summarize key developments in the ongoing recovery and investigation efforts:

US Army Corp of Engineers to the Rescue

Residents are dealing with the burdens of clearing debris, and as in North Carolina, the US Army Corps of Engineers are heading to the rescue, as explained in a recent townhall for Palisades residents.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and other elected officials responded to dozens of audience questions. Federal and county representatives described the blaze’s effects on house foundations, soil and trees, and the rebuilding process.

Sherman revealed that the average cost of debris removal for homes from another recent fire was $170,000 — a potential factor for residents who are looking to hire a private contractor to clear their lots.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering to clear away the debris at no charge. Residents can opt in or out of the government service

…The Environmental Protection Agency is also doing its own removal of hazardous items, which will start later this week. Tara Fitzgerald, the agency’s coordinator, told the crowd Sunday night that the process would take “months.”

That answer drew some complaints from audience members.

Clearly, the EPA is less than helpful. Maybe the actual usefulness of the agency should be reevaluated.

Los Angeles will get seriously red-pilled by the EPA rules, meaning a delay of 18 months in clearing the lots for reconstruction.

Powerlines Surged in Eaton Area Before Fire Began

An evaluation of records indicates a surge in the powerlines shortly before the wildfire.

Four Southern California Edison lines over Eaton Canyon saw a momentary increase of electrical current at about the same time the destructive Eaton fire is believed to have ignited on Jan. 7, the utility company told state regulators in a filing Monday.

The incident, according to the filing, happened after Edison’s Eagle-Rock-Gould line — located about five miles away from the suspected start of the fire — experienced a fault, sending the increase of current across the company’s transmission system.

Hopefully, President Donald Trump will install a “handler” for California, allowing rebuilding and recovery efforts to continue without needless delays.

Meanwhile, let’s hope the rebuilding plans contain blueprints for water infrastructure projects useful to this fire prone region. Until then, Angelenos will endure “mudslide season”.

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Comments

Idle Californians should immediately, followed by fast growing trees, to stabilize the ground. They should get IBC totes and set them up for water catchment. 2 0r more shipping containers and start helping themselves.

California’s building codes and permits fees should be suspended.

    The soil in California (or at least the limited amount I saw on my trip) is pea gravel mixed with dust. You have to water trees. Once water gets into the ‘soil’ the dust turns into clay as a lube, and the gravel obeys gravity along with any trees it carries. It’s a nasty see-saw. When it rains, the vegetation grows (but you get mudslides. When it’s dry and the wind blows, fire. Add in mindless Green policies as a multiplier and you have the current situation. Even if all of SoCal had a sudden burst of sanity, the two-step would still be there, only smaller.

Fire and rain.

    Sunny days that I’d thought would never end.

      bill54 in reply to BobM. | January 29, 2025 at 11:00 am

      “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
      I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
      I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
      But I always thought that I’d see you, baby, one more time again” — James Taylor, “Fire and Rain,” 1970
      Sounds like California wistfulness. Their whole regime of DEI and climate alarmism has been revealed. But how can get back to garden this way?

The Good Lord provides

I was coming out of the mountains in Northern New Mexico right after a mudslide in a fire area. State Police and the Sheriff’s office blocked the road and only let a few of us through if we had a NM plate and a high clearance 4WD vehicle, figuring we could deal with it since it’s a yearly thing for us. I was driving a Jeep CJ-8 that day so they just waved me on. If you live in rural NM, your roads are dirt and many have a high percentage of clay so it gets very slick and often very deep.

God/Gaia does what the vile, stupid and incompetent Dhimmi-crats could not. I don’t refer to the heroic and laudable efforts of firefighters, obviously, but rather, Bass’s and Newsolini’s total dereliction of duty and rank incompetence as pertain to the absence of new reservoir construction; major reservoirs emptied of water; the lack of pro-active, prescribed burns; the cutting of fire department budgets; the enabling/facilitation of large populations of homeless people and vagrants (increasing the prevalence and likelihood of arson); and other utterly appalling and indefensible leadership/governance failures.

    bill54 in reply to guyjones. | January 29, 2025 at 11:06 am

    Don’t get God and Gaia in the same thought. We can do the former or the latter. Worshipping the pagan psuedogod the green brigade calls Gaia is just as foolish as worshipping any false god. Besides that, if you check out their myths, nature deities are more evil than any truly moral person much less a believer in Jesus Christ.

California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
@Cal_OES

Phase One of debris clean up has begun! US EPA teams are on the ground in Los Angeles removing household hazardous materials – things that are toxic, ignitable, corrosive or reactive

https://x.com/Cal_OES/status/1884420984847098000

Two EPA guys troweling with tiny spades. We’re from the government and we’re here to help.

ThePrimordialOrderedPair | January 29, 2025 at 4:49 am

A winter storm hit southern California, extinguishing most of the wildfires in the Greater Los Angeles area.

“The system worked!” — Commie Mayor, Karen Bass. “Now, for all those people who tried to criticize me for DEIing the fire department and pulling funds … don’t you all feel silly!! This was our plan all along. We knew that Global Warming would eventually stop the fires. I am ready to accept all of your apologies.”

People are frustrated and angry at the government’s inability to do anything right but should calm down a little. Considering the scale of the destruction 18 months might be the initial estimate and there is only so much equipment to use. I’m sure it won’t take that long

    docduracoat in reply to diver64. | January 29, 2025 at 9:09 am

    To Diver64,
    That was sarcasm, right?
    This is the Federal Government.
    They will have their jobs whether the work gets done or not.
    So why would the even try to meet a deadline?
    They will forbid citizens from putting a dumpster on their property and shoveling it full and taking it away.
    “For safety”
    And then they will take years to do environmental reviews of the dumping place.
    No, it will not take 18 months if a government agency is in charge.

CA is like a china shop where a group of monkeys has been let loose. Once a beautiful peaceful place is now a nightmare. Allowing the locals to rebuild CA is like asking the group of monkeys to rebuild the destroyed china shop.

What’s next? Locusts!

President Trump requests water and God delivers.