Record fires in California: The curse of the wind

The warnings of meteorologists are clear: Wind at the speed of small hurricanes could reignite existing fires in California and trigger more fires. In the districts of Los Angeles and Ventura gusts are possible with a speed of up to 130 kilometers per hour. Experts at the US Weather Service are literally talking about an "extreme red flag warning", using a category not previously included on their rating scale to describe the danger. No one can remember that the situation was ever as dramatic as it is today.

More graphics from our friends @NWSSPC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWSSPC We expect the Santa Anas to be howling by sunrise tomorrow. Gusts to 80 mph possible at locations in LA, Ventura and Orange Counties. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/6rmLyGAFNc

It comes at this time of year in California actually regularly fires. This is due to seasonally stronger winds. In the south of the state one speaks of the so-called Santa Ana winds, in the north of the Diablos. They arise because of the high plateau of the states of Nevada, Utah and Idaho forms an area of ​​high pressure. Its initially cold and very dry air flows clockwise towards the Pacific coast. There it falls - because it is heavier than the warm air on the ground - down from, is accelerated and further dried out.

Around 130 million dried-up trees

In narrow canyons, particularly high wind speeds are created. The vegetation is additionally dried up by the dry air. It is also estimated that there are already some 130 million dried-up trees in the California forests, more than enough food for the fires. If there is a source of ignition - a discarded cigarette, a runaway campfire, a faulty power line - the inferno can begin.

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This year, the winds are particularly strong, in addition to unusually high temperatures. You hit a region where it has not rained enough for years. A mix that promotes the spread of flames.

California has already warmed by three degrees in the past century - more than the world average. As a result, plants dry out more and become even better food for fire. For the future, researchers also predict a shift in precipitation patterns - so that rains that could extinguish fires will increasingly occur later in the winter.

And there's another problem: climate scientist Janin Guzman-Morales from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego has computer-modeled that the forest fire season in California - fueled by climate change - will in future be from autumn to winter should shift. The fires might start later, but last longer because of the drier vegetation.

In the video: How to fight the firefighters against the flames

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ETIENNE LAURENT / EPA-EFE / REX

Already, the situation is dramatic: this year's forest fires have already displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes, destroyed dozens of buildings and left more than a million people in the dark for precautionary power cuts. Targeted "blackouts" are intended to prevent sparks damaged by the wind from sparks and thereby trigger fires, as has happened many times over.

The insolvent-plagued company PG & E is responsible for Northern California, Southern California Edison in the south. After massive criticism, PG & E had blamed it on breaking out of the devastating "camp" fire at Paradise last year, which left at least 86 people dead. The firm had committed itself to paying eleven billion dollars in insurance companies in a settlement.

This year, the company shuts off significantly larger parts of the pipeline network for precautionary fire protection. Trees on power lines are trimmed by helicopter. In addition, cables are now increasingly being laid underground - at the current expansion rate would PG & E for California, however, need about 1000 years.