Large stretch of Southern California under Red Flag Warning as Santa Ana winds bring elevated fire risk
Santa Ana winds are leaving much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties with elevated wildfire risk on Thursday and Friday, leading to a National Weather Service warning that any blazes could spread quickly.
"If fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior which would threaten life and property," a NWS Red Flag Warning says. "A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. Use extreme caution with anything that can spark a wildfire."
As a result of the Santa Ana wind event, which could bring fire danger in combination with low humidity, CBS LA has issued a Next Weather Alert for Thursday and Friday. The alert spans the Ventura County mountains and valleys, Malibu, the Santa Monica Mountains, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, the Inland Empire and Orange County.
"If a fire were to start, it could spread rapidly because of the weather conditions," said CBS LA Chief Meteorologist Paul Deanno.
The NWS says those winds will "dry out any helpful effects of the recent rains" Southern California received.
"The winds are coming in from the desert, pushing through into the mountains, through the canyons and the passes. Finally, when it trickles down into our wind-prone areas, that's what helps dries us out," said CBS LA Meteorologist Amber Lee.
Forecasters indicate that wind gusts Thursday and Friday can reach upwards of 70 miles per hour in mountain areas. Inland, they're expected to come from the northeast between 20 and 40 mph.
Santa Ana winds are likely to peak on Friday, according to the NWS.
Preemptive measures in Malibu
Malibu said Southern California Edison warned it could shut off power in parts of the city as a Public Safety Power Shutoff because of the increased fire risk.
"Be prepared for power outages, cell service disruptions, traffic signal outages and possible evacuations," the warning reads.
Residents can view their outage status here.
An early start in LA
Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department battled a brush fire in Brentwood early Wednesday morning. The blaze grew to about 1.5 acres in dense brush, but firefighters stopped forward progress by 4 a.m.
While the blaze didn't reach a critical size or burn any structures, the burning of dense brush despite recent rains could be of concern as the high winds continue to dry out vegetation in the coming days.