If the wildfire outbreak has caused you to consider canceling your California adventure, don’t—conditions are rapidly improving, making the city more amenable to visitors.
Over the weekend the three major fires burning in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Santa Barbara counties wreaked havoc with the roads and the Metrolink train service, but as of Monday morning things were returning to normal as the fierce Santa Ana winds died down and firefighters started getting the upper hand against the blazes.
The Sayre fire in northwest Los Angeles County shut down Interstate 5 in Newhall and parts of the 210 freeway for a large part of Saturday afternoon, but they have since been reopened. I-5 is a major artery connecting Los Angeles with parts of central and northern California, and its closure caused massive traffic jams among motorists who attempted to take detours.
The Triangle Complex fire near the border of San Bernardino County in Chino Hills forced closures of sections of the 57 and 91 freeways as smoke caused decreased visibility, but both highways were also reopened as of Monday morning. Only two highway off-ramps and one canyon road remain closed due to fire activity.
Over the weekend both fires forced the suspension of Metrolink services that run through the burn areas, but service has been resumed as of Monday morning, albeit with minor delays. Metrolink warned that possible intermittent fire-related power or communications outages were still possible in the Sylmar/San Fernando area along the Antelope Valley line.
The Sayre and Triangle Complex fires, which have collectively burned over 35,000 acres, are now both 40 percent contained, while the Tea fire, which has been burning in the affluent Santa Barbara enclave of Montecito since Thursday, is 90 percent contained.
Air quality, which was extremely poor in the L.A. area over the weekend, is improving as the fires die down. The thick smoke and haze caused the cancellation of several events on Saturday and Sunday, including the Pasadena marathon, and caused many people to hunker down inside their houses.
The weather is expected to be much more pleasant during the coming week than it was over the weekend, when 90-plus degree temperatures, 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts and single-digit humidity readings were prevalent throughout southern California.
This week temperatures are expected to dip to the upper 80s and winds will drop to between 5 and 10 mph, while humidity will rise to around 15 percent, making conditions much more favorable to firefighters and travelers alike.
Link: Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, National Weather Service
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.
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