Red flag warning for Santa Cruz Mountains, Central Coast as lightning, strong winds expected

A red flag warning has been issued for the Santa Cruz Mountains and Central Coast beginning Friday morning amid concerns about potential lightning and strong winds.

The National Weather Service said the warning will be in effect from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. Areas covered by the alert include the mountain range along with the Salinas and Carmel valleys, the Hollister area, Big Sur, Monterey Bay, the interior parts of Monterey County and the Santa Lucia range.

Forecasters said there is a 20-30% chance of thunderstorms, with rainfall amounts under 0.15 inches. In addition, gusty winds from 40 to 50 mph are possible.

The warning comes as more than 1,000 firefighters are battling the Timber Fire and Plaskett Fire, which are both burning in Big Sur.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Timber Fire has burned 19,296 acres and is 21% contained, while the Plaskett Fire has burned 140 acres with zero containment.

"Given the Timber and Plaskett fires ongoing, any lightning strikes and/or erratic/gusty outflows would make for difficult firefighting efforts," the weather service said in its Thursday afternoon forecast discussion.

Dry lightning strikes in August 2020 sparked some of the largest wildfires ever seen in the region. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned more than 86,509 acres (135 square miles), destroyed nearly 1,500 structures and killed one person.

Around the same time, two lightning-sparked blazes, the River Fire and Carmel Fire, burned more than 50,000 acres (78 square miles) in Monterey County, destroying more than 70 structures.

Officials urged people not to leave burning debris or campfires unattended and to extinguish them completely. Using equipment or machinery that could create a spark is also discouraged.

In addition, people are urged to secure to chains to avoid dragging and potential spark and not to toss cigarette butts out of vehicles.