Extreme fire conditions brought on by a “life-threatening” windstorm have been classified as a “particularly dangerous situation,” according to weather officials.
The National Weather Service only occasionally issues this kind of red flag warning under severe circumstances.
Because wind gusts have a significant potential to spread fire, the NWS has issued a red flag warning for a large portion of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Because destructive wind gusts of up to 80 mph could bring down trees and cause power outages, the warning will be in effect until Thursday. From Thursday evening through Friday, a fire weather watch will be in force. Overnight recovery will be extremely weak, and humidity levels will be in the single digits.
Only.02 inches of rain have fallen on Los Angeles since the beginning of December, according to meteorologist Paul Deanno of KCAL News. Since 1964, this has been the driest beginning to winter. This time of year, the average is typically more than three inches.
According to Deanno, there is still a serious risk of fire even if the peak winds have gone and things have improved somewhat. According to KCAL News Meteorologist Alex Biston, wind gusts above 30 mph are still possible in places like Riverside, Santa Clarita, and San Bernardino as the day goes on.
Relief for firefighters won’t be possible until the gusts subside later in the evening.
Major brush fires have erupted and spread rapidly over Southern California in the last day. More than 11,000 acres have been burned in the Palisades Fire, more than 2,000 acres in the Eaton Fire, and 500 acres in the Hurst Fire.
A smoke advisory has been issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for portions of Orange, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles counties. Those who can see or smell smoke are advised to limit or stay indoors.
Weather experts issued a warning of a “life-threatening and destructive windstorm” before to this Santa Ana wind occurrence. They said it will be the strongest to strike the area since 2011, when 400,000 people lost electricity.
Another bout of windy weather is expected to come to southern California on Friday and early next week.
This kind of red flag warning was also issued for the Mountain Fire in Ventura County, which burned around 20,000 acres, and the Franklin Fire in Malibu, which burned over 4,000 acres.
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