Fires in the Los Angeles area: How could they affect a trip planned for next week?

[Steve4031]

I plan to fly into LAX on 1/17 and depart on 1/18 on 4. I experienced the unpredictability of these fires in the Mt. Shasta area a couple of years ago. I learned from that that conditions can change rapidly and that staying on top of the conditions is essential.

It does not appear that the fires would impact Cajon Pass, where the Chief crosses the mountains. I plan to stay at a hotel in the Culver City area, which is much closer to the fire near the coast and north of LA. Should I consider changing travel plans to avoid complications from these fires?

 

[railiner]

I plan to fly into LAX on 1/17 and depart on 1/18 on 4. I experienced the unpredictability of these fires in the Mt. Shasta area a couple of years ago. I learned from that that conditions can change rapidly and that staying on top of the conditions is essential.

It does not appear that the fires would impact Cajon Pass, where the Chief crosses the mountains. I plan to stay at a hotel in the Culver City area, which is much closer to the fire near the coast and north of LA. Should I consider changing travel plans to avoid complications from these fires?

From my far off perspective, after seeing the terrific havoc caused by the fires, I sure would…

 

[zephyr17]

Culver City should be safe. Fires would have to burn through miles of heavily built up urban areas to reach Culver City. It is not close to the wilderness/urban boundary that is the zone of high danger like Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Sylmar are.

At the moment, Cajon Pass isn't close to current fires. However, it is a highly fire prone area and with the extreme Santa Ana winds currently blowing, anything can happen by the 17th. It wouldn't be the current fires that impact Cajon Pass, but new ones are likely under these conditions.

 

[Steve4031]

Culver City should be safe. Fires would have to burn through miles of heavily built up urban areas to reach Culver City. It is not close to the wilderness/urban boundary that is the zone of high danger like Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Sylmar are.

At the moment, Cajon Pass isn't close to current fires. However, it is a highly fire prone area and with the extreme Santa Ana winds currently blowing, anything can happen by the 17th. It wouldn't be the current fires that impact Cajon Pass, but new ones are likely under these conditions.

Thank you for this information. I will see if I can switch to the CZ or EB. I will make different plans if I can get this done for the same amount or less than I paid for my current reservation. Otherwise, I will monitor it and cancel it if necessary.

 

[TinCan782]

Thank you for this information. I will see if I can switch to the CZ or EB. I will make different plans if I can get this done for the same amount or less than I paid for my current reservation. Otherwise, I will monitor it and cancel it if necessary.

You mention the CZ or EB. Doing that I would assume you would be taking the Coast Starlight out of Los Angeles. Be aware that coastal fires (if one were to break out) in the Ventura/Santa Barbara/San Louis Obispo area could shut down that line. It has in the past. I think you would be ok with your current plans.
Of course if you were to fly from LAX to the Bay Area or Portland/Seattle you would avoid the liklihood of fires down here.

 

[Steve4031]

I would change my flights to travel directly into Portland. The fare on the Empire Builder is 600 dollars.

I really liked my arrangements for Los Angeles. Also, if I cancel, I lose 199 dollars on my reservation. That is a major deterrent for me.

 

[Alice]

I agree with TinCan, you'll probably be fine with current plans for these fires. Future fires are unpredictable but likely somewhere when Santa Ana winds and drought are at the same time, like now. Things change too fast to make any predictions as to exactly where a fire will take off during fire alert weather. During the current fires, in addition to the big ones, there have been numerous ones that were controlled quickly while still small. They could just as well have been the ones that took off, but they didn't, even one where the embers were traveling around 3 miles. For all I know, Cajon Pass could be burning tomorrow, it is in the same huge red flag warning area as LA.

There is an app, https://www.watchduty.org/ that is useful when going into a fire area. Turn on and off layers as needed. I'd stick with your plans and save your decision to change as late as possible and as minimal as possible.

 

[Steve4031]

I agree with TinCan, you'll probably be fine with current plans for these fires. Future fires are unpredictable but likely somewhere when Santa Ana winds and drought are at the same time, like now. Things change too fast to make any predictions as to exactly where a fire will take off during fire alert weather. During the current fires, in addition to the big ones, there have been numerous ones that were controlled quickly while still small. They could just as well have been the ones that took off, but they didn't, even one where the embers were traveling around 3 miles. For all I know, Cajon Pass could be burning tomorrow, it is in the same huge red flag warning area as LA.

There is an app, https://www.watchduty.org/ that is useful when going into a fire area. Turn on and off layers as needed. I'd stick with your plans and save your decision to change as late as possible and as minimal as possible.

Thank you for the information. I discovered that the Watch Duty website has an app. I just downloaded it and used it to set alerts for Los Angeles county and San Bernadino county.

My experience in Mt. Shasta scared the crap out of me. This was the one that burned a trestle on the Coast Starlight route a few years ago. I did my best to monitor using the internet. We went to bed on our last night in Mt. Shasta. Then, the following day, we drove over to eat breakfast at the Black Bear Diner in Mt. Shasta. A handwritten sign on the door stated the restaurant was closed because of the fires. My GF asked what we were going to do for breakfast. I told her we would return to the motel, pack, and get out of there. (I used much stronger language because I was scared and concerned that I had put us both in danger). The motel people seemed a bit blase when we checked out.

We got on I-5 to drive to Redding, where there was another Black Bear Diner. That drive on I-5 over the mountains was scary. There were fires on both sides of the road with fire fighting equipment. At that point, I realized I had screwed up royally. We did make it to Redding, but I knew I should never have been in a situation where I was seeing fire. There were ashes on the rental car.

Since I live in Chicago, I am not familiar with wildfires. That experience in Mt. Shasta taught me how unpredictable they are.