(LOS ANGELES) — Weather officials have issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County beginning on Tuesday at 4 a.m. into Wednesday at noon, warning of a heightened fire risk even as crews rush to extinguish blazes tearing through the region.
A new Santa Ana wind event is forecast today through Wednesday with the strongest winds Tuesday into Wednesday. Peak winds for this next event will be weaker than those last week.
Nevertheless, winds will be strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth.
On Monday morning and the rest of the day, winds will begin to pick up in the mountains and higher elevations, gusting 20 to 30 mph, locally as high as 50 mph.
Those winds are likely continue to fuel the historic wildfires raging in Southern California. The largest, the Palisades Fire, has spread by late Sunday to 23,713 acres with only 13% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Thousands of firefighters are battling the blazes across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. About 105,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 87,000 are under evacuation warnings.
By Tuesday morning at 4 a.m., when the “PDS” conditions begin, gusts in the mountains are expected to near 70 mph possibly and humidity could be as low as 8% for some of the area
This Santa Ana wind event will be slightly in different areas than last week, more into western L.A. County, most of Ventura County and even part of Santa Barbara County.
“Emergency responders are ready tonight. Pre-positioned firefighters and engines are spread around Southern California,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said on social media late on Sunday. “Stay safe. Be ready to evacuate if you get the order.”
The strongest winds will begin to subside by noon on Wednesday. But forecast models show still very gusty winds in the mountains at noon Wednesday.
Higher humidity and lighter winds are forecast late in the week and into the weekend.
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