Fire Weather Watch, High Winds in LA County Forecast

LOS ANGELES COUNTY -- Parts of Los Angeles County, including the L.A. County Mountains, will be under a fire weather watch on Wednesday, with the National Weather Service warning today of the first strong Santa Ana event of the season.

The watch will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, though the strong winds -- fueled by high pressure building into the Great Basin -- are expected to kick up during the overnight hours on Tuesday.

Besides the L.A. County Mountains, areas expected to be affected include the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, the Malibu coast and the Santa Monica Mountains. The watch also extends to much of Ventura County.

In the L.A. County Mountains, the NWS forecast damaging northeast winds with gusts peaking at 55 to as high as 75 mph for wind-prone areas, with the strongest winds late Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon.

Colder conditions will also bring low relative humidity numbers -- in the 10 to 20% ranges to the L.A. County Mountains -- that can be more conducive to fire conditions, the NWS said.

In the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, the Malibu coast and the Santa Monica Mountains, the weather service was calling for 40 to 60 mph winds, with gusts to 70 mph in the foothills, along with relative humidity levels of between 8 and 15%.

``If fire ignition occurs there could be rapid spread of wildfire that would lead to a threat to life and property,'' according to the weather service.

Drivers, particularly those in motor homes, big rigs and other large vehicles, were advised to exercise extra caution while traveling through the affected areas.

-- City News Service