Firefighters are making progress on containing the wildfires that have been raging for weeks in Southern California. But even once the physical threat of the fires diminishes, the mental-health toll will linger for months and even years, experts say. With thousands of people evacuated and homes destroyed, rebuilding people's social and psychological resources is one of the next pressing challenges.
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00:00The wind event will begin to decrease in intensity this afternoon.
00:05However, a fire weather watch remains in effect Tuesday evening through Thursday evening
00:12with gusty Santa Ana winds and very low relative humidity.
00:17Your LEFD has had a very busy 24 hours.
00:21There were three additional brush fires fueled by high winds and dry vegetation within the city.
00:28I am happy to report that all three fires were kept very small
00:33and involved Griffith Park, Granada Hills, and the Tujunga areas.
00:38Due to the robust deployment models that included 64 additional resources
00:44and quick, decisive actions by LEFD firefighters,
00:48no homes were damaged or destroyed and no evacuation orders were issued.
00:54I normally pray for rain. God knows we generally need it.
00:58But right now, let me point out the obvious.
01:01The burn scar of the Palisades fire not only sits feet from the ocean itself,
01:07but already on hillsides that are already prone to slide
01:12and which have already absorbed a tremendous amount of water
01:15from firefighting, broken pipes, and melted pools.
01:20Adding water to this mess and saturated, unstable hillsides is the last thing we need,
01:27but we already know at some point it's going to happen.
01:30And let me remind folks, burn scars don't absorb water at a normal rate.
01:35They simply add to the risk of floods, landslides, and debris flow.
01:41Contaminants don't just stay where they fall.
01:44When it rains, they flow into our gutters and storm drains, our creeks and waterways,
01:49and eventually our beaches and ocean.
01:52As the representative of LA's Coastal District,
01:55I personally feel a profound responsibility to safeguard our city's most treasured
02:02and environmentally sensitive region.
02:05That's why last week, the City Council approved my motion instructing the Bureau of Engineering
02:11and LA Sanitation to create a comprehensive waste mitigation and slope stabilization plan.