Nearly a month into the start of the Los Angeles (L.A.), California wildfires, the craziness of the catastrophe slowly begins to dim. This past weekend, California experienced the first rainfall after a long, dry streak of drought-like climate. While new and old fires still reign, L.A. inhabitants hope to see the end of these wildfires soon.
“I’ve seen how the sky has turned a grayish-black color due to the smoke from the fires and I’ve seen the fires creeping into other areas and spreading quickly. And I’ve seen other countries send firefighters to help the effort to put the fires out. I’ve also seen organizations collect donations of food, clothing and other necessities to help people who may have lost everything in the fires,” magnet junior Nadia Guthrie said.
As the rainfall increased through the weekend, L.A. communities received between one to two inches of rain, allowing firefighters to better contain the Palisades, Eaton and Hughes fires. The rainfall led to an increase in moisture but it only provided temporary relief against the fires. Meteorologists explain that while the rain will help contain the fires, the severe drought in those areas needs significantly higher levels of rainwater to fully suppress the flames.
The initiator of the fires, the Santa Ana winds, could possibly last through February and March, leaving one weekend of rainfall insignificant against the strength of the fire-starter winds. As communities lose their homes and businesses, a new wave of issues arise concerning the L.A. environment.
Due to the recent rainfall, debris from the wildfires has turned into runoff for Malibu Beach and Playa del Rey prompting L.A. public health officials to close off certain miles of coastline. This runoff and pollutants entering the oceans — and the sands — can lead to extreme danger because of the risk of toxic or carcinogenic chemicals coming in contact with humans. With these hazardous consequences at stake for L.A. communities, L.A. public health officials issued an ocean water quality rain advisory until Thursday, January 30 — ultimately warning beachgoers to avoid the oceans until at least 72 hours after the rainfall.
“The air may become harmful for L.A. inhabitants due to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as excess carbon dioxide produced from combustion. Respiratory irritants such as these VOCs and other polluters can cause cancer and other severe illnesses. Not only that, but the fires may displace the natural wildlife as their habitats get destroyed,” Guthrie said.
The intermittent rainfall brought significant help to firefighters and left various L.A. residents at ease despite the unwanted side effect: mudslides. While the forecast relieved the fires, the rainfall brought a risk of mudslides since the scarred areas from the fires no longer obtained any vegetation to support the land. These dangerous mudslides could possibly occur at any moment, sweeping away homes, vehicles and people.
With an unsure future in sight for L.A. residents, the wildfires slowly start to dim with harsh consequences. The L.A. County Recovers organization recently shed light on the recovery programs available for Californians. Their debris removal program and recovery centers continue to aid the victims of the fires and bring a sense of hope to their community.
