At least five fires are currently burning in Los Angeles where officials warn more high winds could further fan the flames that have been causing total devastation this past week.
At least 10 people have been killed by the wildfires with 180,000 evacuated as neighbourhoods are destroyed.
As firefighters and responders work tirelessly to contain them, here is what we know about how the out-of-control LA wildfires started.
How did the LA fires start?
The Palisades fire was the first to erupt on Tuesday (7 January) before the Eaton, Hurst, Lidia and Kenneth fires began. The earlier Sunset, Woodley and Olivas fires have now been contained.
Strong winds and a lack of rain are driving the blazes which are desperately being tackled to contain. With these powerful gusts blowing inland, they create these conditions where humidity drops. So, if a fire starts up the winds can fan it into an inferno within minutes.
Southern California’s fire season generally stretches from May to October but state governor Gavin Newsom has said: “There’s no fire season, it’s fire year.”
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Thousands of buildings have been destroyed. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
Experts say climate change is altering the background conditions in the area and increasing the likelihood of these wildfires.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: “Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States.”
California is particularly vulnerable after having a very warm summer and a very dry period over recent months.
Local fire chief David Acuna told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there isn’t ‘any conclusive evidence’ the fires were lit on purpose as he added: “Now that the life safety is primarily taken care of, and that we have sufficient resources to assist with that, now they’re able to start digging into the investigation and see what they can discover.”
Strong winds and dry conditions mean the fires spread rapidly. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
Arrests made
North of the Palisades fire, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) believe the Kenneth fire was started intentionally as an arrest has been made.
Minutes after the fast-spreading blaze broke out yesterday, citizens reportedly restrained a man for allegedly attempting to start a fire in Woodland Hills.
Sean Dinse of the LAPD’s Topanga Division told KTLA 5 he was later detained by police in relation to the fire. A local claimed the suspect was armed with a ‘propane tank or a flamethrower’.
According to police there have also been 20 arrests as National Guard troops have been deployed to stop looting in evacuated areas.
Across the county, nearly 180,000 residents have had evacuation orders as hundreds of buildings have burned down.
Major celebrities like Paris Hilton are amongst those who have had homes devastated by the wildfires. Ten people are currently confirmed dead but it is expected that the death toll will rise.
Another 200,000 residents are under an evacuation warning which means they may be required to soon leave their homes.
The fires are said to be the most destructive in LA history with over 10,000 buildings affected and 60,000 at risk.
What is being done to combat the fires?
Los Angeles Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley told press during a recent briefing: “We are not out of danger. You can see the active fires that are burning with strong winds that are going to continue throughout the night.
“I can tell you and assure you that firefighters and first responders remain focused on protecting lives and property. We urge the public to help us.”
Firefighters are working tirelessly to contain the fires. Palisades was six percent contained last night, Eaton is zero percent contained, Hurst is beginning to be contained, Lidia is 60 percent contained and the newest fire, Kenneth so far covers nearly 1,000 acres.
A fire weather outlook for southern California has been brought down from ‘extremely critical’ to ‘critical’ but there is said to be no rain forecast for at least a week.
Featured Image Credit: Apu Gomes/Getty Images
Patsy Palmer is ‘heartbroken’ as she shared an update on her family during the Los Angeles wildfires.
There are currently at least five wildfires raging in the Californian city with five people confirmed dead and over 137,000 evacuated.
Major celebrities are among those who have tragically lost their homes as areas have been left totally devastated.
And Palmer is one of many Brits who call the US area home while she frequently returns to the UK for EastEnders filming.
The Bianca Jackson actor took to Instagram yesterday (8 January) to share a photo of the intense flames as she wrote her ‘heart is broken’.
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Entire areas of Los Angeles have been devastated as a result of the wildfires (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The 52-year-old wrote in her post: “My brain is fried today looking at the devastating scenes of the fires AGAIN in my hometown. I just returned home to my home in case after the fires a couple of weeks ago and left on Saturday back to work in the UK and now this.”
Palmer went on to say her family are ‘safe’, but that lots of her friends have ‘lost their homes again which is extremely traumatic’.
The actor described being so far away from them is ‘really, really hard’. She continued: “I’m praying and crying as I write this. I’m helpless here but praying hard. Please reach out if you need anything.”
She assured that her husband, Richard Merkell, and her kids are ‘safe and evacuated’.
“This is huge. Really wasn’t expecting this. Heartbroken. Stay safe,” the star concluded.
Palmer has also been sharing a series of Instagram Stories, raising awareness of resources and ways to get help in LA.
Paris Hilton is among the stars who have lost one of their homes due to the wildfires as she shared the impact on her place in Malibu.
Patsy Palmer moved over to LA in 2014 ( Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Alongside news coverage of the fires, she wrote on Instagram: “Heartbroken beyond words.
“Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience.
“This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London.”
Hilton described the loss as ‘overwhelming’ while acknowledging her family and pets were safe, sending ‘prayers’ to others who have had to flee.
“My heartaches for those still in harm’s way or mourning greater losses. The devastation is unimaginable. To know so many are waking up today without the place they called home is truly heartbreaking,” she wrote.
The businesswoman also thanked the ‘brave firefighters and first responders risking their lives’ as she added: “We’re in this together, LA.”
Featured Image Credit: patsypalmerofficial/Instagram/Apu Gomes/Getty Images
People have been left in tears over a Los Angeles homeowner’s heartbreaking request to a reporter amid the catastrophic wildfires.
There are currently five fires still burning across the Californian area, with about 10,000 structures thought to have been destroyed and tens of thousands impacted by evacuation orders.
Ten people are confirmed dead so far, with a man having been detained on suspicion of starting the latest Kenneth Fire.
One resident was leaving his Pacific Palisades home by bike when NBC reporter Robert Kovacik asked if there was anything they could do to help him. And in the video shared by NBCLA, the man asks if he can take some of the belongings he had rescued from his home. Take a look:
“You can take these paintings, I guess,” he says, with his arms full of possessions. “I can’t ride with these.”
As sparks fly around in the background, the man had been attempting to get on a bicycle with multiple bags strapped around him and framed paintings in his hand.
With his ‘backyard on fire’, Kovacik assured him he would ‘make sure’ he was reunited with the art as he promised to look after them while the resident fled.
Users commented to say the reporter ‘is a freaking hero’ as they praised his kind act and wrote on TikTok: “Poor guy I have to imagine those paintings have some sentimental value for him.”
The reporter didn’t hesitate to grab the man’s paintings (NBC LA)
With many leaving crying emojis, another said: “You can hear the trembling in his voice when he asked him to take the paintings.”
Others echoed: “The emotion when he asks him to take the paintings! He was probably already grieving them. Poor guy.”
“Why am I crying about NBC helping a man save the paintings that he cherishes?” one wrote.
The largest fires causing this devastation are the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, while there are also three other fires called Kenneth, Hurst and Lidia.
Thousands have fled their homes (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The Kenneth is the newest of the blazes and according to The Independent, the LAPD believe it may have been started intentionally, with a man being arrested yesterday (9 January).
The local fire chief has told the BBC, however, that there is currently no evidence the wildfires across LA have been deliberately sparked.
“Now that the life safety is primarily taken care of, and that we have sufficient resources to assist with that, now they’re able to start digging into the investigation and see what they can discover,” chief David Acuna told Radio 4 Today.
Featured Image Credit: Apu Gomes/Getty Images / NBC News
Have you been toting about in your old, trusted car for years and are now in need of a newer model? Then you’re going to need to know what the upcoming law on speeding is and how it’ll impact your driving.
If you’re privy to driving over the speed limit every now and again and have been crafty with dodging speed cameras, welcome to your worst nightmare.
Big changes are coming. (Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
From 7 July every single car created in the European Union will be automatically fitted with mandatory Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA).
But if you thought you’d get a slap on the wrist, you’re wrong.
Touted as something that will ‘change the way we drive’, UK drivers can now expect any new cars purchased from the implementation date to come with a speed limiter automatically fitted.
If you’re sat there wondering why EU laws will impact the UK, it’s because most of our cars are still manufactured overseas and so will need to adhere to their laws.
Plus, the UK has maintained some EU laws for new cars since Brexit, and this one is no exception.
According to government research, nearly half of all British drivers have sped on motorways and thanks to the popular 10 percent myth, it’s probably higher than that.
But experts think this will stop collisions on the road so you can’t fault them for trying.
So, how do these new cars work?
According to WeBuyAnyCar, the tech will either be a ISA system, which relies on cameras to detect traffic signs, or GPS technology which works by combining information on the driver’s location with the local speed limit.
Or it could use both systems.
If you’re wondering which it’ll use, it’s all down to these three things: advisory, supportive or intervening.
Either an advisory ISA will chuck you a warning symbol if you exceed the speed limit, a supportive system will increase upward pressure on the accelerator pedal, so it’s difficult to speed or a mandatory speed assist will reduce engine power if you are speeding, so your car slowly slows down.
Now, if you think you can just switch it off… there’s some bad news to come.
The speed assist will track how fast you’re going. (Getty Stock Images)
Basically, you can in fact turn it off, but it’ll reset itself each time you restart your car.
If you buy yourself a pretty new car and try to override the system by slamming your accelerator, you’re committing a criminal offence as it’s illegal.
Not only will you not be able to thwart the system manually, there are backups in place to catch you up.
For example, some ISA systems will also be fitted with Data Loggers which can be retrieved by insurers if you’re in an accident to see how you were driving around that time.
They can also be used for prosecution.
So, if you’re browsing the internet or local car dealers to find your new model in the next few years, you should understand that you can’t mow down the road like you’re Schumacher anymore. They’ll know.
Featured Image Credit: Getty stock photos
NASA scientists are closely monitoring a spot in Earth’s magnetic field that could cause serious issues for humanity as we know it.
A region of the planet that leaves humanity vulnerable, it is actually known officially as the South Atlantic Anomaly, or SAA.
Quite literally a ‘dent’ in the planet’s magnetic field, it is bloomin’ huge, going from southwest Africa right over to South America.
American space agency NASA has been closely watching the potential magnetic issue, and what it could mean for humanity if things go wrong.
Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field (Getty Stock Image)
South Atlantic Anomaly and Earth’s magnetic field
The SAA was first discovered back in 1958 and to this day is still watched closely by experts at NASA.
In recent years, NASA has revealed it can cause ‘big headaches for satellites’. And in turn, us mere mortals down on the Earth’s surface.
OK, so a small science lesson. The magnetic field is essentially a protective bubble around the planet itself.
It is this bubble that stops the Sun from vaporising life, allowing biological things to flourish by repelling and trapping charged particles from the star.
Unfortunately, there is an issue with this over South America and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the SAA. Here, these particles dip closer to the surface than normal.
The South Atlantic Anomaly on planet Earth (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center)
Issues for humanity
Due to the SAA’s existence, more of the damaging stuff thrown out into space by the Sun gets to a level that harms us.
Particle radiation in the SAA can knock out computers and can even interfere with the data collection of satellites that pass through it while orbiting the planet.
It is this vital reason why NASA scientists want to track and study the anomaly. Another is to track how the atmosphere around the planet may or may not be changing, with alterations to the SAA an indicator of something being afoot.
The ‘dent’ in the magnetic field is a real problem and one that must be watched at all times (Getty Stock Image)
A changing problem for scientists
Currently, the SAA creates no visible impacts on daily life on the surface. However, 2020 observations and forecasts show that the region is expanding westward and continuing to weaken in intensity.
The SAA is also splitting. Data shows the anomaly’s ‘pothole’ has split into two lobes, creating additional challenges for satellite missions.
And with humanity looking to explore space once again, with expeditions to Mars and further afield spoken about by the likes of NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the impact of the SAA on space tech is very real.
The more we’re exposed to a weakened magnetic field, the more it attacks us. Whether that be biological or mechanical, it will damage us in ways that could see spacecraft malfunction while in the cosmic void.
With them being something called high-energy proton strikes, they could cause significant data loss or irreparable damage. It is due to this that satellite operators will totally shut down their spacecrafts while entering the SAA. To not do this could be devastating for life back on Earth, especially with satellites that are essential to how we live our lives whether that be GPS, keeping hospitals going, food production, or weather patterns.
“Even though the SAA is slow-moving, it is going through some change in morphology, so it’s also important that we keep observing it by having continued missions,” said Terry Sabaka, a geophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“Because that’s what helps us make models and predictions.”
