Santa Ana Winds Create High Risk of Wildfires

Fierce Santa Ana winds, bone-dry vegetation and very low humidity will combine to create a high risk of wildfires Wednesday, especially in the mountains, where there could be gusts of 70 mph, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning Tuesday, indicating the approach of critical fire-weather conditions, for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties starting at 6 p.m. and for coastal and valley areas beginning at midnight. In both cases, the warning was scheduled to expire at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The county's red flag warning began at 10 p.m. Tuesday and was expected to last until 6 p.m. Wednesday, unless the weather service extends its warning, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Mark Savage.

Savage asked residents in brush areas to take precautions, including reporting any sign of smoke, using extreme caution when operating spark- or flame-producing machinery in hazardous grass or brush area, and having a wildfire action plan in place. More information is available from fire.lacounty.gov. Savage also suggested reporting any suspicious persons or vehicles to law enforcement.

The city of Los Angeles Fire Department's red flag alert began two hours earlier than the county's. That's because the department was pre-deploying its resources at 8 p.m., the LAFD's Erik Scott said.

More than 120 firefighters go to select neighborhood fire stations that serve areas with large amounts of brush. The specific stations and locations selected for pre-deployment are based on the experience of past years.

Parking restrictions will go into effect at 8 a.m. Wednesday in selected parts of the city. For more information, check lafd.org/redflag.

Scott said the last time the Los Angeles Fire Department issued such an alert was Jan. 12, 2009.

The San Gabriel Mountains include the fuel-rich Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County and the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County.

"This will be the strongest and most widespread Santa Ana event we have seen so far this season," a weather service advisory said.

The weather service forecast overnight gusts of between 60 and 70 mph in the mountains, 50 to 60 mph in the valleys and 40 to 50 mph along the coast, in metropolitan Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills.

"The combination of these strong offshore winds, low humidities and dry fuel will bring a high risk for rapid fire spread across Los Angeles and Ventura counties should an ignition occur," the advisory said.

National Weather Service meteorologists said they were basing their fire- weather concerns on the impending winds, the dry and highly combustible vegetation and low humidity, which they said they expected to drop to single digits by Wednesday.

"The combination of gusty offshore winds, low humidity and dry fuel conditions may result in critical fire weather conditions for six hours or more, which could result in extreme fire behavior," according to a weather service advisory, which said "the greatest probability of having six hours or more of critical fire weather" would occur in mountain locales in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

National Weather Service forecasters warned operators of high-profile vehicles, such as motor homes, to take the high winds into account before driving through mountain areas, and warned that gusty winds are also capable of downing trees and power lines.

—City News Service