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Fires in California: how to explain the violence of the flames?
Fires in California: how to explain the violence of the flames?
(France 2)
Since Tuesday, a hurricane of flames has hit Los Angeles, California. To what do we owe this exceptional disaster, which occurred outside the fire season?
In California, Los Angeles (United States) is now surrounded by flames. California caught fire on Tuesday January 7, and since then, unseasonal fires fanned by exceptionally violent winds have caused panic in several parts of the metropolis. Gusts of up to 160 km/h were recorded on site. Comparable to those observed during hurricanes, they drag the embers for kilometers.
“Such unpredictable winds, I have never seen them in my entire career”assures Captain Jacob Raabe, firefighter in Los Angeles. The wind comes from the heights of the Sierra Nevada. This cold air located at the top of the relief flows towards the coast, accelerates in the canyons and heats up when arriving in the valley, fanning the flames. A recurring phenomenon this season. What is less so, however, is the extraordinary drought which is hitting the area. The vegetation, which grew after two rainy years, became an ideal fuel, which feeds these fires, even outside of the season.
Watch the full report in the video above.
