Progress in firefighting efforts across Southern California wildfires has led to the lifting of consecutive resident evacuation orders. As the Santa Ana winds that fueled the spread of the fires have also weakened, large-scale power outage situations are being resolved rapidly.
According to KTLA and CAL FIRE on the 18th, the containment rates for major Southern California wildfiresβnamely the Norte, Bryson, and Henderson firesβincreased to between 50% and 68% by the morning of that day.
The Norte wildfire, which broke out on the 16th on the border of San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente in Orange County, burned 570 acres and recorded a 50% containment rate. Although 7 homes were damaged or destroyed and at least 2 firefighters were injured, all evacuation orders have been lifted. However, access to some roads and fire-affected areas remains restricted.
The Bryson wildfire in Malibu burned 146 acres, with its containment rate rising to 68%. All evacuation orders were lifted, and temporary shelters closed their doors.
The Henderson wildfire near Camp Pendleton in San Diego County burned 3,160 acres, making it the largest in terms of damage area among the three fires. Its containment rate increased to 65%.
As the strong winds subsided, the scale of preemptive power outages by Southern California Edison (SCE) plummeted. While more than 63,000 locations experienced outages on the afternoon of the 15th, customers without power decreased to 1,391 as of 7:41 AM on the 18th. This includes 1,253 in Ventura County and 138 in LA County.
Although approximately 220,000 customers were initially at risk of additional power outages, it appears there are currently no targets under review for precautionary outages.
Southern California Edison (SCE) plans to restore power after completing safety inspections. Meteorological authorities forecast that temperatures and wind speeds this week will return to near-normal levels.
