Firefighters in Southern California could be battling dangerously strong winds today as they try to contain the devastating wildfires around the region.
The National Weather Service issued a rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning. Winds began to ramp up overnight, with some areas seeing gusts over 70 miles per hour. A new fire in Oxnard broke out late Monday and was ripping through terrain in that area.
The death toll in the fires is now up to 24 and is expected to keep increasing. Ninety-two-thousand people are under evacuation orders while another 89-thousand are in evacuation warning zones. In addition to the ongoing fire threat, concerns are growing about contaminated drinking water in affected areas. Some residents have been advised not to drink tap water due to potential contamination from the fires.
President Biden is announcing a one-time payment of $770 to each resident impacted by the wildfires.
Meanwhile, homeowners who lost their homes in one of the devastating Southern California wildfires are suing the local utility.
At least five lawsuits have now been filed against Southern California Edison, saying the company failed to take its electrical equipment off-line despite red flag warnings about damaging winds that were forthcoming. They claim the Eaton Fire is the result of Edison continually disregarding the safety of the public when it comes to their actions with their equipment.
The Eaton Fire has burned over 14-thousand acres since breaking out one week ago, killing at least 16 people and damaging or destroying over seven-thousand structures.
