Foreign Office warns UK tourists over 'fast-spreading' situation that's 'life-threatening'
UK tourists have been issued an urgent warning from the Foreign Office over travelling to the USA. The Foreign Office has issued an urgent travel advisory for British citizens regarding active wildfires in Los Angeles County, California.
The warning comes as "fast-spreading" fires continue to affect the region. The Foreign Office warned: "Fast-spreading wildfires are currently active within Los Angeles County. You should monitor local media and follow the advice of the local authorities.
"More detailed information can be found on CAL FIRE. If you are in need of consular assistance, you should call +1 310 789 0031 or visit Emergency help. In the UK, call +44 (0) 20 7008 5000." A “life-threatening” windstorm is impacting a large swath of southern California, fanning the destructive fires and complicating early containment efforts.
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Strong winds began hitting Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Tuesday and were likely to peak in the early hours of Wednesday, when gusts could reach 80mph (129km/h), the National Weather Service (NWS) said Monday.
The NWS called the extreme event a “particularly dangerous situation”, a rarely issued type of red flag warning, saying it was “as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather”. “The worst and most severe part of this wind event is yet to come,” said LA city council president Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
Jeff Monford, a utility spokesperson, said it wasn’t always possible to give advanced notice to customers, telling the Los Angeles Times: “This is a phenomenon of the increasing effects of climate change on weather. We have more weather extremes that can change more quickly than we might be accustomed to.”
The winds will act as an “atmospheric blow-dryer” for vegetation, bringing a long period of fire risk that could extend into the more populated lower hills and valleys, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.