As firefighters continue to battle blazes in Los Angeles that have leveled entire neighborhoods, the deadly Santa Ana winds that fueled them have returned and are expected to intensify.
Gusty offshore winds and persistently dry weather are increasing extreme fire threats in the region, officials said at a news conference Sunday. The National Weather Service characterized it as a "Particularly Dangerous Situation," a label used only used five previous times in the history of the weather service office that covers L.A., said Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge of that office.
Red flag warnings cover Southern California from the top of the Ventura County coastline to the Mexican border, with most expiring at 6 p.m. Wednesday and a few scheduled to be phased out earlier, according to the weather service.
Among the strongest winds recorded Sunday in Southern California was a reading of 67 mph at Magic Mountain Truck Trail in the Western San Gabriel Mountains, 65 in Fremont Canyon in Orange County's Santa Ana Mountains, and 64 in Deer Canyon in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in northeastern Orange County.
Last week, Santa Ana wind gusts reached hurricane strength at times before calming in the last few days. Federal forecasters said a high pressure system is helping to spin up the winds anew, sending them from east to west against the prevailing Pacific breezes. As the winds descend mountains and dive into the urban coastal plains of Southern California, their molecules are compressed and they warm up. They'll greet a surface that hasn't seen much rain in months.
These winds, combined with low humidity and very dry vegetation, “will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County very high,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
While the threat is set to last until Wednesday, L.A. is expected to experience the strongest winds on Tuesday, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley warned.
“It’s very important that the community understands that these wind events are coming,” she said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has been criticized over the city’s fire preparedness, assured Angelenos that L.A. is ready to endure the strong winds with the support of every available firefighter in the city.
The wind gust forecast in the state is expected to remain relatively unchanged for the next four days.
Mountainous areas already experienced winds of over 60 mph on Sunday. In the next few days, winds of 25 to 40 mph are expected in these areas, with the possibility of gusting up to 70 mph.
Along the coast, winds will range from 20 to 30 mph, gusting up to 55 mph.
Around downtown L.A., winds are expected to range from 10 to 20 mph, gusting up to 30 mph.
The strong winds allow the fire to spread quickly, with embers sparking flames in new areas, making the blazes particularly challenging to contain.
They can also help a wildfire become an urban fire by helping a blaze cross roads, span hilltops, and spread embers into otherwise everyday residential communities, as happened to Pacific Palisades last week.
"We are not expecting winds to be anywhere near what we had for the catastrophic event," Cohen of the weather service said, referring to last week's windstorm. "But it's still strong enough to create explosive fire growth."
