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Region braces for dangerous winds as death toll rises to 24What caused the fires?LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said detectives are continuing to investigate the possible causes. "Everything is absolutely on the table," he said. Lightning - the most common source of fires in the US - has been ruled out as a cause for the Palisades and Eaton fires.'I have nothing to go back to' - heartbreak in LAHow one street went up in flamesNor has there been any official indication so far that arson or utility lines - the next two biggest culprits in sparking fires - caused any of the conflagrations.California's very wet years of 2022-23 brought about a huge growth of vegetation, which dried out in the drought of last year, creating abundant kindling.A combination of an exceptionally dry period - downtown LA has only received 0.16 inches (0.4cm) of rain since October - and powerful offshore gusts known as the Santa Ana winds have also created ripe conditions for wildfires.Where are the fires?There are two active fires in the wider area, while a smaller fire is nearly contained say California fire officials:Palisades: The first fire to erupt a week ago and the biggest in the region. It has scorched more than 23,654 acres, including the upmarket Pacific Palisades neighbourhood. It was 11% contained as of Sunday morningEaton: Affecting the northern part of LA, blazing through areas such as Altadena. It is the second biggest fire in the area, burning more than 14,000 acres. It is 27% containedHurst: Located just north of San Fernando, it began burning last Tuesday night. It has grown to 799 acres, and is almost fully containedThe earlier Kenneth, Archer, Sunset, Lidia, Woodley and Olivas fires have been contained.Read more at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyxypryrnko

Research in Southeast Asia quantifies how much wildfire smoke hurts peoples’ moods; finds the effect is greater when fires originate in other countries.Peter Dizikes | MIT NewsPublication Date: February 13, 2024Wildfires in Southeast Asia significantly affect peoples’ moods, especially if the fires originate outside a person’s own country, according to a new study.The study, which measures sentiment by analyzing large amounts of social media data, helps show the psychological toll of wildfires that result in substantial air pollution, at a time when such fires are becoming a high-profile marker of climate change. “It has a substantial negative impact on people’s subjective well-being,” says Siqi Zheng, an MIT professor and co-author of a new paper detailing the results. “This is a big effect.”The magnitude of the effect is about the same as another shift uncovered through large-scale studies of sentiment expressed online: When the weekend ends and the work week starts, people’s online postings reflect a sharp drop in mood. The new study finds that daily exposure to typical wildfire smoke levels in the region produces an equivalently large change in sentiment.“People feel anxious or sad when they have to go to work on Monday, and what we find with the fires is that this is, in fact, comparable to a Sunday-to-Monday sentiment drop,” says co-author Rui Du, a former MIT postdoct who is now an economist at Oklahoma State University.Read more at https://news.mit.edu/2024/study-measures-psychological-toll-wildfires-0213

Natural Hazards ResearchVolume 4, Issue 1, March 2024, Pages 87-96AbstractUnderstanding the spatiotemporal distribution of forest fires and future predictions is very important for management strategies. To identify the present status of forest fires in the Kingdom of Thailand and their risk in the future, ten-year forest fire data were used, and a forest fire hotspot was prepared. A geospatial technique was used in the study to characterize the parameters of forest fires in the country and identify future forest fire risk areas. Most of the forest fires in the country were found to be seasonal. Deciduous forests in higher elevations and on moderate slopes were most vulnerable to forest fire. The level of aridity, soil moisture, temperature, precipitation, vegetation status, and topography influenced the spatiotemporal distribution of forest fires in the country. Greater than 50% of fire risks were observed in 22 administrative divisions, and 17 of the 209 protected areas are also in the high-risk category. The final forest fire hotspot map can be used in policy development and successful management strategies. A better monitoring strategy should be used in the fire hotspot areas as a precautionary measure to minimize the anthropogenic causes of forest fires.Read more at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666592123000847