Santa Ana winds die down across LA — but are set to return next week
A much-needed drop in high winds across Southern California has been welcomed by forecasters and firefighters this morning — but the Santa Ana winds could return next week, bringing yet more dangerous fire conditions.
The National Weather Service said that the chance for moderate winds, with gusts of up to 50 mph, will rise to 50% on Monday and 60% on Tuesday, with a 10% chance of strong winds up to 70 mph on both days. Humidity will remain below 20% all week.
This means a 60% chance of a red flag warning, meaning high fire risk, on Monday and 70% on Tuesday.
Community comes together to help small businesses recover from fires
They lost almost everything in the wildfires in Southern California, but thanks to the community and a spirit of giving, small businesses are starting to recover. NBC News' Jacob Soboroff reports.
A long road to rebuilding — and fights over government funding — await L.A. fire victims
The scenes of destruction in Los Angeles have brought a sense of déjà vu for Steve Crowder. Six years ago, similar images of fires ravaging his community of Paradise, California, were plastered across televisions and social media.
“It is Paradise revisited,” said Crowder, the mayor of Paradise. “Sitting here watching the news, these fires in L.A. have hit me the hardest.”
Now, his town could give an indication of what the road to recovery may look like for those in the Los Angeles area joining the growing list of towns and cities devastated by wildfires.
For those communities, recovery has been measured in years, not months. It has required billions of dollars in federal assistance, though federal money doesn’t address every need after a disaster. And putting that money to use comes with unexpected challenges that have gone far deeper than the surface-level destruction.
“My message to any of these towns is, don’t let anybody tell you you can’t come back, because we are proof you can come back. There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Crowder said. “The first time you walk through your town you’re going to think, ‘Oh, there’s no way we can come back from this.’ Well, there is, even though it looks like you’re walking through where a nuclear bomb went off.”
Catch up on NBC News' coverage of the wildfires
- A long road to rebuilding — and fights over government funding — await L.A. fire victims
- What is the pink powder sprayed over the California wildfires?
- Electrical tower a focus as Eaton Fire’s potential origin after video clues emerge
- From Baptist churches to Buddhist temples, religious groups volunteer for fire victims
- Startups race to build bigger, better drones to fight bigger, hotter wildfires
- Super Scooper planes that fight wildfires are ‘rugged, reliable’ — and rare
- Los Angeles wildfires cast a shadow over 2028 Olympics