The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection warned that southern California was in the throes of a “critical” weather event. The combination of “strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity” was creating “extreme wildfire risks”, a perfect storm that had set the stage for this disaster.
Even President Joe Biden’s plans were disrupted. Scheduled to give remarks in the nearby Coachella Valley, where he was set to announce the creation of two national monuments protecting over 848,000 acres of land from drilling and other energy development, he was forced to abruptly cancel his speech due to the fire.
Around 26,000 people were under an evacuation order, with more than 13,000 buildings hanging in the balance, threatened by the encroaching fire. The blaze had already spread to an area of more than 300 acres, and darkness had descended on the coastal subdivision in western Los Angeles, with billows of smoke blotting out the sun, casting an eerie and desolate atmosphere over the once-glamorous locale.