PACIFIC PALISADES—Wind gusts on Friday, December 4 pose a fire risk throughout Los Angeles. Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry downslope winds. The wind helps dry out the vegetation and the land, making it the perfect setup for fires to form. Once the fires develop, the high speeds of the Santa Anas help spread the fires rapidly.
The National Weather Service continued its red flag warning for the region until 10 p.m. Saturday, December 5 in the Los Angeles County mountains, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational area, Angeles National Forest and the Santa Clarita Valley.
The red flag warning was also in place for the Entire North Bay, East Bay Hills and Interior Valleys, Santa Cruz Mountains, and San Francisco Peninsula Coast. The San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys, along with the coastal area stretching into downtown Los Angeles, was be under a red flag warning until 6 p.m.
There is a possibility that winds might die down Sunday, but there is a prediction that the winds will hit the region again on Monday, December 7 and possibly Wednesday, December 9 and/or Thursday, December 10. The predicted wind is north 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph above 100 feet. Local gusts may be 60 mph higher peaks.
The National Weather Service said that “winds are decreasing today, however, it will remain gusty in the mountains and foothills with gusts of 35 to 45 mph. Lower elevations will see less wind with some gusts to 25 to 35 mph at times through (Friday) morning. The air mass remains extremely dry with minimum humidities in the single digits to lower teens expected across most valleys and mountains through Saturday. Poor overnight recoveries of only 10-20 percent will be likely for windier areas of the fire district. Elevated to brief critical fire weather conditions will persist after Saturday due to continued dry air and locally gusty offshore winds.”
For safety precaution, Southern California Edison stated that “when there is a high risk for a wildfire, [they] may temporarily shut off power to your neighborhood to prevent [their] electric system from becoming the source of ignition.” So Cal Edison added that “when there are potentially dangerous weather conditions in fire-prone areas, [they] may need to call a PSPS event. During these events, we will proactively turn off power in high fire risk areas to reduce the threat of wildfires…PSPS events are one of the ways [to] better ensure the safety of the public, our customers, and…employees. “
