California is currently grappling with a dual environmental crisis, as a fast-moving wildfire rages near the Nevada border while successive storms threaten Los Angeles.
The new blaze, dubbed the Pack Fire, erupted on Thursday in scrubland within Mono County, approximately 150 miles (241 km) southeast of Sacramento.
By Friday, it had consumed around 3,400 acres (1,375 hectares), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The fire has damaged 15 structures and forced 1,400 evacuations, though most residents have since been allowed to return home, confirmed Sergeant Brent Gillespie of the Mono County Sheriff’s Office.
Only 5 per cent contained by Friday, the blaze is burning just 15 miles from the Mammoth Lakes ski resort, where locals are preparing for the season’s start.
Concurrently, Los Angeles is enduring back-to-back storms, which could trigger flooding and mudslides in regions scarred by January’s devastating wildfires.
Forecasters indicate that heavy rain pushing south from the San Francisco area may aid firefighters in controlling the Pack Fire.
“The rain hasn’t yet put a dent in it, but it stopped it from spreading,” Gillespie said.
The storm, which brought moderate rain to the Los Angeles area on Friday, is expected to merge with a second weather system driving east off the Pacific on Saturday and Sunday, said Heather Zehr, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, a private forecasting company.
“It’s the same storm that brought a messy commute to San Francisco Thursday, but it’s undergoing a rapid change,” Zehr said. “Los Angeles is getting some puddling rain on the streets today, but by Saturday, Southern California will see serious rainfall.”
Downtown Los Angeles could get 2 to 4 inches (50 to 100 mm) of rain over the weekend, while other areas could see up to 8 or 10 inches, she said.
The steady deluge threatened to trigger mudslides in the burn-scarred land left after the January fires, one of the largest natural disasters to hit Los Angeles County.
“There will be flooding, flash floods and mudslides,” Zehr said. “This is definitely a big deal.”
January’s Eaton and Palisades fires killed about 30 people and destroyed or damaged more than 16,000 homes and businesses. Up to 180,000 people were evacuated. AccuWeather estimates that damages and economic losses reached $250 billion.
The storms are expected to subside on Sunday, but more rain is expected later in the week.
