'Highest possible' fire danger threatens Southern California as Santa Ana winds return

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'Highest possible' fire danger threatens Southern California

Dry Santa Ana winds could bring gusts up to 80 mph to parts of Southern California, creating dangerous fire conditions beginning Monday night. 

LOS ANGELES – The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles is warning that Santa Ana winds will bring the "highest possible" fire danger to the majority of Los Angeles and Ventura counties in Southern California.

Those winds are forecast to pick up Monday night and continue through Wednesday evening. 

The NWS has issued a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" (PDS) Fire Weather Warning for much of the Santa Ana wind corridor of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Tuesday. The PDS Warning extends through Wednesday for the Susana Mountains. Farther south, San Diego County is also under a Fire Weather Warning.

Forecasters with the Los Angeles NWS office noted that these fire weather conditions could "rival other historical fires in recent times," including last month's Mountain Fire and the Thomas Fire in December 2017.

The Mountain Fire in Ventura County quickly grew to nearly 20,000 acres, destroying nearly 250 homes and structures in early November.

Santa Ana winds blow from the Santa Ana Mountains in Southern California, bringing in hot, dry air from east of the mountains. They can occur at any time of year but are more common during cooler weather from fall through winter.

WHAT IS A RED FLAG WARNING?

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Many of the windier corridors in these counties could experience damaging wind gusts, which could cause downed trees and powerlines, along with power outages. 

San Diego Gas & Electric alerted customers through social media that the utility company may shut off power depending on wind conditions to prevent potential fires generated by downed powerlines.

CAL Fire Public Information Officer Mike Cornett told local media that people within the warning areas need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Santa Ana winds can often increase the fire danger for Southern California, and forecasters are expecting that to be the case this week.

The fire weather alerts for Southern California through Wednesday.
(FOX Weather)

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"This event has the potential to be as strong as the November 5th-6th Santa Ana event that led to the Mountain Fire," the NWS Los Angeles warned. "Prepare for fire weather by ensuring you have defensible space and creating a plan in case of evacuation. Any new fire will grow rapidly, likely exhibiting extreme fire behavior."

The greatest fire threat will unfold from late Monday night into Wednesday. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center is forecasting "extreme" fire weather conditions for Tuesday in places like Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark and Santa Paula along the Southern California coast.

Forecasters with the NWS said the fire weather threat through Wednesday is being fueled by an overlap of relative humidity values dropping into the single digits and damaging wind gusts between 60 and 80 mph. 

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With the forecast conditions, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is asking people to refrain from using spark-creating equipment outdoors this week. 

"If you must, ensure you have adequate water on hand to extinguish any sparks before it's too late," LAFD wrote on Facebook. 

Winds forecast for Tuesday in Southern California.
(FOX Weather)

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The FOX Forecast Center noted that unlike typical Santa Ana winds, "this event will have a more easterly direction, which could bring stronger gusts to areas that don’t usually experience them."

This wind direction could also create hazardous conditions in Avalon Harbor, with strong winds and rough waves.

Wind gusts could reach up to 70 mph on Tuesday in the mountains, and relative humidity will be between 5% and 10%. 

Winds will decrease by Wednesday afternoon. However, the humidity will stay extremely low.