Like an accelerant

“Devil’s breath” causes flames to blaze in Los Angeles

(Bild: AFP/Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

The catastrophic fires in Los Angeles on the US west coast are repeatedly fanned by fierce winds. The infamous Santa Ana winds, also known as the "devil's breath" among the people of California, are responsible. 

The German Weather Service describes the phenomenon as a "dry, warm foehn wind", which occurs regularly, especially in late fall and winter. This is when the air flows from the high plateau between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada towards the Pacific and heats up considerably due to the drop in altitude and the crossing of the Mojave Desert.

The "devil's breath" finally reaches the coasts of California as an extremely dry and hot wind, according to the weather experts.

Canyons as a catapult
Because the wind forces its way through narrow passes and canyons, it reaches very high speeds. "If you take a garden hose with water flowing through it and narrow the opening, you increase the speed of the water and observe a similar effect," writes the University of California.

When the Santa Anas blow, temperatures in Los Angeles can rise to 30 degrees even in winter. Coupled with their high wind speeds of sometimes 100 kilometers per hour, the removal of humidity and longer dry periods, they make the region very susceptible to forest fires.

Where does the name come from?
The most common explanation is that the wind was named after Santa Ana Canyon in Orange County in southern California. However, it also has other nicknames, such as "Devil's Wind" or "Red Wind".

The Santa Ana winds have also been mentioned frequently in literature, films and music. The Beach Boys released a song entitled "Santa Ana Winds" in 1980, in which they aptly describe the phenomenon as a "fire wind".