This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog under the title: This Is One Of The Most Catastrophic Disasters In U.S. History, And High Winds Could Spread The Fires To New Areas Of L.A. Until Wednesday

High winds returned to Los Angeles on Sunday morning, and that is making one of the most catastrophic disasters in U.S. history even worse.  Already, more than 60 square miles in the L.A. area have been burned.

To put that in perspective, the entire city of Washington D.C. covers just over 68 square miles.  I have been trying to find the right words to describe the devastation that we have been witnessing, but I just can’t seem to find words that are sufficient.  According to California Governor Gavin Newsom, this is one of the worst natural disasters in the entire history of our nation…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Saturday that the Los Angeles-area wildfires will be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history and called for an independent investigation into the local water supply.

“I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope,” Newsom said when asked whether the disaster would be among the nation’s worst ever.

The winds that have been spreading the fires calmed down for a while, but now they have flared back to life…

On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, winds have been in the 35-55 mph range, with some gusts reaching as high as 70 mph in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles.

It becomes very difficult to control fires when wind speeds are this high.

In fact, a Cal Fire public information officer was warning that wind speeds had gotten so high that aircraft that are being used to fight the fires may need to be grounded again…

Chris Harvey, a Cal Fire public information officer, said he was concerned that Sunday’s winds could become strong enough that firefighting aircraft would have to be grounded again. Aerial efforts were suspended for a time last week because of the extraordinarily strong winds, which made it unsafe for aircraft to make their usual drops of water and fire retardant.

What firefighters need more than anything is for the winds to die down.

Unfortunately, we are being told that the region will be under a “red flag warning” until Wednesday…

It’s the last thing that wildfire-ravaged southern California needs, but a red flag warning will span several days, through Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m., with strong winds and continuing critical fire weather in the forecast, the National Weather Service announced on Saturday.

The warning indicates that existing fires could spread and new ones could start, meteorologists said. It begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, as fire crews continue to battle the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, which are still threatening lives and property in Los Angeles County.

The latest red flag warning also includes the Inland Empire and Orange County, and residents throughout Southern California should be prepared for pre-emptive power outages to lessen the likelihood of wildfires being sparked by Southern California Edison or other equipment, officials said.

What is Los Angeles going to look like after several more days of burning?

Right now, the Palisades Fire is being pushed by high winds toward the “ultra-affluent Southern California neighborhoods of Brentwood and Bel Air”…

The devastating Palisades Fire pushed to the northeast, prompting new evacuations in the ultra-affluent Southern California neighborhoods of Brentwood and Bel Air as the threat of more dry winds raised risks after a brief respite.

The spreading flames brought “another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said early Saturday.

The expanded evacuation area covers some of Los Angeles’ most important cultural institutions, including the Getty Center, an architectural landmark with a world-class art collection.

In a desperate attempt to save it, thousands upon thousands of gallons of pink chemicals are being dropped on Brentwood…

A DC-10 air tanker was flying over the Palisades fire as it dropped around 10,000 gallons of the chemical to prevent fire from reaching Brentwood – a place many high-profile celebs call home.

Incredible pictures show affluent neighborhoods covered with the pink chemical in what looks like an apocalyptic movie.

One picture shows a backyard with a pool covered in hues of pink after tanker planes dropped chemicals all over the area.

Vast numbers of L.A. residents have been forced to evacuate over the past several days.

Unfortunately, they are discovering that many of those that have temporary housing to offer are really jacking up their prices…

Days after an inferno razed the Pacific Palisades, Maya Lieberman is desperate to find somewhere to live. But unscrupulous landlords who are jacking up prices are making it hard.

“The price gouging is going haywire, it’s obscene,” the 50-year-old stylist told AFP. “I can’t find anywhere for us to go.”

Southern California used to be such a beautiful place.

Sadly, life in the region will never be the same after this.

And what makes all of this even more infuriating is the fact that the damage did not have to be this bad.

Firefighters were running out of water as they tried to fight the Palisades Fire because a reservoir that can hold 117 million gallons of water had been closed for repairs since February of last year…

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of commission when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby, the Los Angeles Times found.

Officials said that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed since about February for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117-million-gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades for nearly a year.

The revelation comes amid growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze, which ignited Tuesday during catastrophically high winds. The Times reported early Wednesday that numerous fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets of the Palisades went dry, leaving crews struggling with low water pressure as they combated the flames.

Why does it take a year to fix the cover of a major reservoir?

I just don’t understand that.

The “water czar” that is in charge of making sure that the reservoirs and fire hydrants are working correctly is a woman named Janisse Quiñones, and she is reportedly being paid $750,000 a year…

The $750,000-a-year LA water czar is responsible for a raft of failures that contributed to the devastating Palisades Fire, fire department insiders told DailyMail.com.

On Mayor Karen Bass’s orders, the city maxed out its budget to ‘attract private-sector talent’, hiring Department of Water and Power (LADWP) CEO Janisse Quiñones on a $750,000 salary in May – almost double that of her predecessor.

Now, Quiñones is being blamed by LA Fire Department (LAFD) insiders for leaving a nearby reservoir disconnected and fire hydrants broken for months, DailyMail.com can reveal, leading to firefighters running out of water as they battled the devastating Palisades Fire this week.

Most of the time, we don’t pay a great price for the extreme incompetence of our leaders.

But in this case, it is going to cost us billions upon billions of dollars.

This is already one of the worst disasters in U.S. history, and it is far from over.

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written eight other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.