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When the Santa Anas Blow...
...all bets are off
Jon Dougher
January 21, 2025
Good Morning and Happy Tuesday. We delayed our normal Monday dispatch in honor of MLKJ Day. Thanks for waiting 😊 .
In today’s Buzz:
High Winds, high anxiety
Why The Santa Anas Winds seem worse this year
LA Fires Cause Surge in OC Rental Demand
This Week’s events
Let’s dive in!
Jon Dougher, Back Bay Buzz
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
The Windy City
Just as fire crews are finally gaining the upper hand in the Eaton and Palisades Fires, another round of Santa Ana winds are set to pick up again this week, causing renewed fears of wildfires in LA and OC. While Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are at a low risk of fires, the devastation caused in the Palisades cast doubt if any beach town was safe from a sudden blaze. While Orange County Fire crews are taking every precaution to ensure fires are quickly found and contained, Newport and Costa Mesa will breathe a little easier when the winds finally die down.
This small fire in San Clemente started just as the winds picked up Monday afternoon. It was contained in less than 3 hours.
When the Santa Anas Blow, All Bets Are Off
Can we cool it with The Holiday movie quotes?
In case you forgot, Santa Ana winds occur when cool air in the desert is drawn up and over the mountains by warm air on the coast, causing it to accelerate faster as it approaches the ocean. This happens every year, in varying extremes. While many are blaming the high winds and resulting fires on climate change and lax environmental strategies, the fact remains that extremely high Santa Ana winds have occurred before (the most recent being an extreme wind event in 2011). Normally, this would result in a spike in chapped lips and allergy mprescriptions. But the unusually high winds combined with unusually high amounts of dried brush (which grew during an unusually rainy rainy season) resulted in the perfect conditions for fires to start and spread.
…There will be a quiz later
LA Fires Cause Rental Demand to Swell
The fires in the Palisades, Alta Dena and other areas has caused those displaced to be looking for accommodation as they figure out what happens next. This has resulted in hotels and rental properties to be booked to capacity at an unprecedented rate. One realtor said he had had “more calls [regarding leases] in one week than any other week in my career.” It is clear that the fires in LA will decrease demand there and will shift the real estate focus to less fire-prone areas in Orange County. | ❝ “I’ve had more calls in one week as a real estate agent than any other week of my career – north of 300 calls…Its people just trying to figure out what this is going to look like.” - Tim Smith, Tim Smith Real Estate Group |
EVENTS COMING UP!
Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton will be hosting an informal gathering at the OASIS Senior center for those displaced by the LA fires as a welcome to the neighborhood and to highlight available resources - Saturday Jan 25th - 9am-11am - Directions Here
Don’t Tell Comedy Show - Jan 25th - 8pm
Location and Comedians are a secret (its kind of their thing)
Farmers Market - OC Fairgrounds (Lot D) - Thursday Jan 23rd - 9a-1p
Mod Ref Sample Sale - The Lab - Jan 25-26th 11am-5pm - More info here
BRICK Convention Lego Fan Expo - OC Fairgrounds - Jan 27th-28th - 3pm-6pm - More Info
Fourth Fridays Vintage Market on the Lido Deck - Lido Village - Friday, January 24, 12 – 5pm - Hosted by Retroblades
WEATHER
Tuesday
47 🌡️ 68 I ⛅️ I 0% Rain I 11mph 🍃
Wednesday
49 🌡️ 68 I ⛅️ I 0% Rain I 6mph🍃
Thursday
54🌡️ 75 I ☀️ I 0% Rain I 6mph 🍃
Water temp = 57º
Water temperature readings taken from Balboa Harbor the night before publication
🐥 FAMILY FRIENDLY
Live Music Class for Littles (up to 5yo) - OC Public Library Laguna Beach - More Info Here
🐻 Meet Paddington at the Museum - Balboa Island - Jan 25th 11am
RSVP by calling 949-675-3952. Confirmations will be sent via carrier pigeon. More Info Here
Free Run Club - Pretend City - Jan 22
📆 SAVE THE DATE:
Reading in the Redwoods - Environmental Nature Center, Newport Beach - Saturday Jan 25th - 10am-11:30am - More Info
🎤 LIVE MUSIC
Wednesday
Lost Leaders (Byron Isaacs of the Lumineers) - The Wayfarer - 7pm - Tickets here - Hey! Ho!
Live Jazz by Chromasique - Mesa Lounge - The Camp - 730pm - Info Here
Thursday
Lauren Black (acoustic) - The Lido Deck (Lido Village) - 12-3pm
Thanks!
Please ignore any typos, our editor stayed up past his bedtime watching re-runs of The Holiday.
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