A fast-moving wildfire is currently burning in California, while the city of Los Angeles is bracing for a series of storms that could trigger flooding and mudslides. The potential for disaster is heightened in areas previously devastated by wildfires earlier this year.
The new blaze, dubbed the “Buck Fire,” ignited on Thursday in the brushlands of Mono County, approximately 241 kilometers southeast of Sacramento. As of Friday, the fire had consumed an estimated 3,400 acres. Authorities report that up to 15 structures have been damaged, and approximately 1,400 people were forced to evacuate their homes.
Brent Gillespie, a Mono County official, stated that most residents have since been allowed to return home. Weather experts are hopeful that heavy rainfall moving south from the San Francisco area could aid firefighters in containing the wildfire.
Heather Zehr, a meteorologist at AccuWeather, explained that a storm system that brought moderate rainfall to the Los Angeles area is expected to merge with similar weather patterns moving eastward off the Pacific Ocean on Saturday and Sunday. “It’s the same storm that caused travel chaos in San Francisco on Thursday, but it’s rapidly changing… Los Angeles will see some rain,” Zehr stated.
She added, “By Saturday, Southern California will experience significant rainfall.” The potential flooding poses a significant threat of mudslides, particularly in areas scarred by the January wildfires. These earlier fires were one of the largest natural disasters to strike Los Angeles County in recent memory.
“There will be flooding, flash flooding, and mudslides. This is definitely a major concern,” Zehr cautioned. The Eaton and Palisades fires in January resulted in approximately 30 fatalities and damaged or destroyed over 16,000 homes and businesses. Approximately 180,000 people were evacuated. AccuWeather estimates the damage and economic losses from those fires at up to $250 billion.
