Crime & Safety
Santa Ana Wind-Driven Fire Danger To Last Through Sunday
As Southland fires rage, firefighters expecting the Santa Ana winds to fade Thursday night were warned the danger will last till Sunday now.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Santa Ana winds behind four major wildfires in Southern California gained strength Thursday, but despite an anticipated drop-off, critical fire conditions are expected to continue through the weekend.
Red flag warnings denoting the high risk of wildfires were initially scheduled to expire Thursday evening, but they were repeatedly extended, and are now expected to expire at 8 p.m. Sunday.
"An extended moderate to strong Santa Ana wind event will continue over much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Sunday," according to the National Weather Service.
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Forecasters said the winds would peak Thursday, with gusts of 40 to 60 mph, then decrease through Saturday, with gusts of 25 to 35 mph expected. Winds will increase slightly on Sunday to 30-45 mph gusts, before "decreasing significantly Monday and Tuesday."
"Meanwhile, minimum humidities of 5 to 10 percent will be common through at least the middle of next week, with widespread poor overnight recoveries mostly staying under 30 percent," according to the NWS. "As a result, critical red flag conditions will persist over most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Sunday, with at least elevated fire concerns through next week and a chance for locally critical (conditions)."
Find out what's happening in Studio Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The red flag warnings will be in effect in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, the Angeles National Forest; the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys; L.A. County beach cities, metropolitan Los Angeles, Downtown L.A., the Hollywood Hills and all of Orange County.
Red flag warnings are also in effect in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Various wind warnings are in effect along with the red flag warnings. In mountain and valley areas, a high wind warning indicating 40-mph winds and gusts of 58 mph will be in force until 4 p.m. Friday. "Winds this strong may down trees and power lines, causing property damage or power outages," warned an NWS statement. "Cross winds can make driving difficult, especially for drivers of high-profile vehicles towing trailers."
Forecasters urged motorists to exercise an extra measure of caution and be prepared for gusty crosswinds.
City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock
