At least 137,000 people have been evacuated and over 1,000 buildings have been destroyed in Los Angeles and Ventura counties by 5 ongoing wildfires that are actively burning around the greater Los Angeles area. The wildfires first began during the morning of January 7 and have grown exponentially due to the presence of Santa Ana winds, a weather phenomenon that brings winds of between 40-60 mph (64-97 km/h) to the Pacific coast of Southern California from mountain passages further inland.
The largest of these wildfires is called the Palisades wildfire and was first reported during the morning of January 7 in the residential Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. The fire has since grown rapidly to around 17,234 acres as of the early morning of January 9 and has damaged roughly 1,000 residential and commercial structures in across surrounding neighborhoods. At least 30,000 people have been evacuated and weather data indicates that the fire has reached the coastal city of Santa Monica, where evacuations are currently in place for the North of Montana neighbourhood. The fire is currently 0% contained as of the early morning of January 9.
The Eaton wildfire broke out during the night of January 7 near the Eaton Canyon area of northern Los Angeles and has burned around 10,600 acres of land across the Altadena and Pasadena areas. The fire has killed at least 5 people and has forced the evacuation of over 52,000 residents as of the morning of January 8. The fire is also 0% contained and evacuation orders have been issued for areas of Glendale, Pasadena, and Arcadia.
More recently, the Hurst wildfire erupted at 22:30 local time on January 7 in Los Angeles’s Sylmar neighborhood and has grown to 855 acres. Two wildfire situation has worsened on January 8 with two additional wildfires, Lidia and Sunset, breaking out over the course of January 8. The Sunset fire is currently prompting evacuations around the residential area of Hollywood Hills.
While winds on January 9-10 will not be as intense as on January 8, they will still be strong with gusts to 35-55 mph from the northeast maintaining the risk of ignition and spread of wildfires and preventing significant containment. These northeast winds are called the Santa Ana winds, which are winds that descend from the higher terrain to the northeast of southern California down into the lower elevations near the coast. As these winds move down the terrain, they dry and warm the air, which create prime wildfire conditions – strong winds and low humidity. January 11 will likely be the first full improved day of weather conditions. However, containment efforts may take several days beyond the improved weather conditions. The fires are likely to blaze for at least several more days as firefighters work to contain the fires.
Damage to infrastructure could disrupt production and logistics
The ongoing fires and heavy winds have caused damage to power infrastructure across the affected areas, with around 330,000 customers without power across Los Angeles and Ventura counties as of 03:05 local time on January 9. Additionally, some power companies have also shut off services in select areas due to concerns that electricity infrastructure could worsen the fires. Companies with production facilities near to affected areas could face disruptions as a result of ongoing outages.
An unsafe water alert has also been issued for the Pacific Palisades and surrounding neighborhoods as high levels of water usage have resulted in low pressure in the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s water distribution system. Companies in the region that rely on industrial water supplies could experience unscheduled water disruptions if firefighting authorities decide to divert water supplies to aid firefighting efforts.
Companies with supplier nodes near the affected neighborhoods in Los Angeles should expect major delays to ground transportation in the area. Road closures and evacuation orders may impact the movement of raw materials, components and finished goods to and from manufacturing and logistics sites in and around Los Angeles. Some major highway closures have already been reported, including I-210 near Roxford Street, I-5 on the road’s connectors to I-210, and westbound lanes of I-10 near Lincoln Boulevard. Closures have also been reported along the entire stretch of the CA-1 Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu and Santa Monica. Additional traffic congestion is also expected throughout the city of Los Angeles as severe smoke from the wildfires affects road visibility. Disruptions to postal and courier operations are also expected across evacuation zones.
The wildfires do not appear to have significantly affected operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). However, flights to and from regional airports in the area could be impacted.
Wildfire conditions threaten densely populated areas
Local officials are currently focused on rescuing residents and containing the fire, so damage evaluations are still limited at the time of writing. However, industrial facilities are located within and immediately surrounding the evacuation zones for all fires, especially the Eaton and Hurst fires. Westward winds are expected to push the Eaton fire towards more densely populated areas, heightening the risk of direct industrial damages. Additionally, while smaller in area, the Hurst fire has affected a major transport junction between the I-5 and I-210 highways with many industrial sites located in its vicinity. Industries at risk of operational disruptions due to the wildfires include general machinery, aerospace, plastics, and
Production stoppages could also be expected at sites near the fires, even if they are not directly located within evacuation zones. Schools have closed and several public events have been canceled due to the threat of wildfires, power outages, and heavy smoke. Industrial facilities may take similar precautionary measures and halt production due to employee evacuations and transportation disruptions. Even if companies decide to stay open for business, many employees may struggle to make it to work due to road closures and traffic congestion in many affected areas. Moreover, preemptive power outages are likely to cause further production stoppages.
Everstream clients are receiving more detailed insights and recommendations about this risk.
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