A rare windstorm unprecedented in its intensity swept through coastal Pacific Palisades, California, unleashing a destructive wildfire that ravaged the affluent community. The powerful winds, likened to a 'hydraulic jump,' defied expectations and grounded firefighting efforts. Homes, businesses, and cherished landmarks were reduced to ash, leaving residents grappling with the devastation.
Everyone knows California is disaster-prone, but there’s a familiar logic to the calamitous geography in this high-maintenance beauty of a state. Wildfires are supposed to be in the hills — in the wild — not on the beach, and certainly not inside the borders of one of the biggest and best-prepared cities on the planet.
There have been windstorms like this before, including one in 2011 that caused a lot of wind damage in the San Fernando Valley, Swain said. But, fortunately, they didn’t spark catastrophic fires. On Tuesday, the city wasn’t so lucky. By Thursday, neighborhoods still smoldered for miles up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, more than 5,000 homes and businesses scorched.
WILDFIRE CALIFORNIA WINDSTORM PACIFIC PALISADES LOS ANGELES CLIMATE CHANGE
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