When will the LA fires end? Experts warn of challenges ahead as blazes continue to rage

Los Angeles faces several more days of hell before the wildfires that are still raging can be brought under control, experts warn.A week after the Palisades Fire broke out only 17% of it has been contained and it is still burning about 24,000 acres — an area about half the size of Brooklyn, New York.More than 40,000 acres of southern California have been set ablaze in recent weeks.The biggest challenge remains the hot, dry wind — which picked up early this week, though not as badly as forecasters had feared.“We’re already seeing some improvement [in the weather].That has led in large part to why you see such gains in the containment of those fires.

You really need to have those winds not working against you,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Heather Zehr told The Post.“Last week, those winds were so strong that they were out-racing the firefighters,” she said.Fortunately, the bellowing breeze has just about blown itself out, and Zehr expects fire crews to make big gains in containing and knocking down the fire this weekend.“Once the winds calm down they should pretty quickly be able to get control,” Zehr said.The direction of the wind also matters: So far, the Santa Ana winds have brought dry, desert air, but if the winds change direction, they’ll bring moist air from the sea.In addition to the wind, a delay in the rainy season helped spark the blazes.This has been the second-driest winter on record for Los Angeles, which has only seen 0.16 inches of rain.But Angelenos can’t expect those rains to return anytime soon. “Normally the rains come around this time, but there has been a very slow start to this.

There will be very minimal chances between now and the end of January, ” Zehr said.Jacob Weigler, Wildlife Coordinator for Central Pierce County, Washington, said although it’s tricky to predict when the fires will be contained in a large urban sprawl like LA, he said he expects it to be “soon.”“Sooner rather than later.They hav...