Cooler weather brings relief to firefighters battling California’s three massive blazes
Crews battling three major California fires could get some relief from record heat and help from the weather as a cooldown preceded minor containment for the blazes.
Crews battling three major California fires could get some relief from record heat and help from the weather as a cooldown preceded minor containment for the blazes.
By Saturday, the Airport, Bridge and Line fires have collectively burned over 115,000 acres of land in the state since they ignited this month, destroyed more than a dozen of structures and injured at least 15 people, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
None is fully contained.
A high pressure system that has baked the west for much of September moved eastward and opened the door to a cooler system that will usher in cloud cover, ocean breezes, and the possibility of showers, as well as temperatures that are expected to drop to between 10 and 25 degrees below average. Hot, flame-fanning winds from the desert are dissipating, and the cooler temps may help firefighters give the blaze their best.
The Airport Fire, which started Monday in the area of Trabuco Canyon, about 55 miles southeast of Los Angeles, expanded to 23,519 acres in a footprint that included parts of Orange and Riverside counties, according to Cal Fire.
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