Southern California fire danger ramps up amid heat wave, thunderstorms

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of Los Angeles County as thunderstorms added a new wrinkle to the heat wave on Saturday morning.

The warning, in effect until 9 p.m., spans several mountainous areas of Southern California, such as the Santa Clarita Valley and San Gabriel Mountains. A NWS bulletin described the fire conditions as extreme, due to dried out fuels from the heat wave combined with sporadic lightning strikes.

"If fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior and rapid fire growth, which could threaten life and property," the bulletin reads. "Be aware of sudden re-direction of fires in response to passing outflow boundaries."

As of Saturday morning, at least four fires in the Angeles National Forest have started due to lightning strikes. The U.S. Forest Service stated that there was no current threat to life or property as 11 a.m.

Meanwhile, elevated thunderstorm chances will remain in place throughout the weekend, although the NWS said fire chances will decrease after Saturday night. Thunderstorm chances as of Saturday morning were at 20% in Los Angeles, 31% in Santa Clarita, 31% in San Bernardino and 65% in Big Bear Lake, according to the NWS.

The extreme heat warning will remain in place until 9 p.m. Sunday, according to the NWS. A cooling trend is expected to start Monday.