Santa Anas might blow more trouble into region
The Thanksgiving travel season got off to a bad start as dozens of flights were delayed or diverted Sunday night into Monday morning because of dense fog blanketing Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. And Southern California can expect another weather menace later this week: the return of Santa Ana winds.
Thick coastal fog also shut down one of two runways for arriving flights at Los Angeles International Airport late Monday night. An FAA spokesman said air traffic controllers were letting pilots land only on the south runway. The closure resulted in 15-minute delays for arrivals, up to 45 minutes for departures.
At John Wayne Airport, a spokesperson said a few arriving flights late Monday were diverted to other airports because of fog. Departure service had already ended for the day. Poor visibility due to fog also caused delays at Long Beach Airport.
The possible Santa Ana winds had firefighters preparing for potential problems and some wondering whether it will be too windy for a California-style outdoor Thanksgiving.
The National Weather Service on Monday predicted gusts as high as 40 mph in the mountains and passes of Southern California starting Wednesday night.
Weather specialist Stewart Seto said temperatures would not reach the highs of last month, when a series of fires roared out of control across Southern California. The winds are expected to be less powerful than last month’s as well.
Still, forecasters said the potential for danger remained as sustained winds were predicted to begin blowing as high as 25 mph tonight with humidity levels sinking to critical fire levels in the single digits. By the weekend, winds were predicted to top 35 mph, Seto said.
On Monday, however, the problem wasn’t wind but dense fog, causing hundreds to be stranded at the Burbank airport.
The fog rolled in about 9 p.m. Sunday, cutting visibility in the Burbank area to less than a quarter-mile and forcing more than a dozen flights to land at other local airports, including Ontario and Long Beach.
Weather conditions, coupled with a scarcity of aircraft on the ground Monday morning, fueled a new round of frustration and delays of at least a dozen other flights.
Bob Hope Airport spokesman Victor Gill called the conditions in Burbank a “double whammy” for travelers.
Scott and Amy Smolev of Encino were among those waiting at the airport’s crowded main terminal Monday morning rather than jetting to New York and then on to a family Thanksgiving in Long Island. The couple got to the airport at 6:10 a.m. for their JetBlue flight an hour later.
“I knew something would be wrong the minute I saw how much fog there was the last couple of days,” said Scott Smolev, 35, who said he plans for such delays. “I always allocate a day for travel,” he said.
Seda Azarian, an account sales manager who was in town visiting her sister, came to the airport Sunday only to find out that her overnight flight on JetBlue to New York would be delayed.
Exhausted and angry, she turned down an offer to be shuttled to Long Beach late Sunday, even if it meant missing a day of work.
“I’m not schlepping to Long Beach,” she said.
David Ostdiek opted to leave the angst of the terminal behind after his flight was delayed Monday morning. He called a friend to pick him up and went to breakfast at DuPars in Studio City. “I didn’t want any part of it,” he said of the lines and frustrated fellow passengers. “I’m not into the drama.”
With most planes expected to be more than 90% full around the nation, the ripple effects of bad weather can be severe.
Like other airports across the country and the region, including LAX and John Wayne Airport, officials at the Burbank airport expect record passenger numbers topping 20,000 for this Thanksgiving travel season.
David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Assn., said that with every plane nearly full, there is little margin for error. That’s especially true during the Thanksgiving travel season.
“The flights are full across the board,” Stempler said. “If there’s any hiccup or burp in the system, there’s not very much room on subsequent flights to reaccommodate passengers.”
In fact, the Monday after Thanksgiving has now supplanted Sunday as the second-busiest travel day of the year. Lose your seat and you might not be home until the following Tuesday or Wednesday, he said.
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david.pierson@latimes.com
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