As Predicted in Yesterday’s Blog Post
There are several ways that Mother Nature punishes Southern California for its (otherwise) mild climate:
- Earthquakes, such as the giant temblors that hit the San Fernando Valley in 1971 and 1994
- Wildfires
- The Santa Ana Winds (sometimes called the Devil Winds)
The Santa Ana Winds and the wildfires are closely connected. In January 2025, the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires were aided and abetted by dry wind gusts that reached up to 100 miles per hour (161 km per hour). I strongly suspect that earthquakes have a role to play in this devil’s brew of calamities, but I am at this point not sure exactly how.
According to Wikipedia, the Santa Ana Winds are what are called katabatic winds:…