LOS ANGELES: After a couple of days of respite heavy winds are expected to return Wednesday to the California area plagued by a massive fire, potentially hindering the efforts of firefighters battling in an already dry climate.
The fire has already destroyed at least 272,000 acres (110,000 hectares) — nearly the size of the city of Los Angeles — and is just 55 percent contained since it began December 4, according to the state’s fire authority Cal Fire.
The so-called Thomas fire is considered the second largest fire to hit the state since 1932.
The National Weather Service issued a red alert from Wednesday evening into Thursday morning for “gusty winds and low relative humidity” in the affected area of Santa Barbara County.
Firefighters took advantage of weaker winds on Monday and Tuesday to battle the voracious blaze, which has already destroyed more than 1,300 structures.
Cal Fire pointed to the well-off city of Montecito as its area of greatest concern, after the fire on Saturday rained ash on the dry hills and million-dollar mansions of the area.
Mark Brown, the Cal Fire operations section chief, said Tuesday was “a very productive day” but emphasized “we are not dropping our vigilance.”
“There’s still risk out there,” he said, noting the forecast winds.
Only one fire has burned more California land than Thomas: the Cedar Fire of 2003, which swallowed some 273,244 acres.
Returning winds churn up heightened alert in fire-hit California
Returning winds churn up heightened alert in fire-hit California
German union calls Lufthansa pilots strike for Thursday, Friday
- Andreas Pinheiro, the union president, said there was “still no offer on the table” from Lufthansa
- Almost 800 flights were canceled during the February 12 walkout
BERLIN: Pilots for German airline Lufthansa will go on strike for a second time Thursday and Friday over a pensions dispute, the Vereinigung Cockpit union said in a statement.
The strike will affect Lufthansa Cargo and passenger flights “departing from German airports between 00:01 local time on March 12, 2026 and 23:59 local time on March 13, 2026,” the union said.
However, flights to several key Middle East destinations will be excluded from the industrial action “in light of the current situation” in the region, according to the statement.
Andreas Pinheiro, the union president, said there was “still no offer on the table” from Lufthansa following a one-day strike last month.
Almost 800 flights were canceled during the February 12 walkout, with cabin crew also staging a strike on the same day.
Pilots for Lufthansa subsidiary CityLine will hold strike on Thursday, Vereinigung Cockpit said, blaming “the failure of negotiations on a new collective wage agreement.”
Lufthansa announced one year ago that it would close Lufthansa CityLine, with operations and staff moved to a new subsidiary.
Destinations in Egypt, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will be excluded from the strikes, the union said.
Announcing its 2025 annual results last week, the Lufthansa group reported a forecast-beating operating profit of 1.96 billion euros ($2.27 billion), around 20 percent higher than the previous year.
However, the airline warned it faced an uncertain outlook because of the Middle East conflict.
