Santa Ana Winds To Roll In, Bringing More Extreme Fire Conditions To SoCal

LOS ANGELES, CA — As authorities soon approach the third week in their efforts to contain the devastating fire that destroyed thousands of acres of land, leaving 27 dead in Southern California, another round of extreme weather is set to return to the region with heavy Santa Ana Winds, the National Weather Service says.

The winds will roll into the mountain, valley, and coastal areas in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside starting on Monday morning, but then not strengthen until Monday night into Tuesday morning.

"That's when we'll really see the peak of it," meteorologist Stephanie Sullivan told Patch on Saturday night.

There will be wind gusts of 35 to 50 miles an hour, and some of the more wind-prone areas with very isolated spots that typically get windy during the Santa Anas, could have gusts to around 70 miles per hour.

The coastal slopes and the foothills will be the areas most at risk.

That will pose a threat in areas where the fire has not been fully contained because there can still be active burning within those areas.

"There's still a chance they could start to see more fire activity again and start to spread, but it'll just depend on how much more progress they can make prior to the wind starting," Sullivan said.

The region's humid conditions, which are around 80 percent in some areas, are a contributing factor to the dangerous conditions.

In the area of the Palisades fire, it's mostly in the low 50s, even into the 40s higher up into the mountains. The area of the Eaton fire is pretty similar for the Eaton fire with temps in the upper 40s to low 50s.

In some of the neighborhoods located in the upper parts of the mountains, it's a bit drier with humidity anywhere from 30 to 50 percent.

The greater Los Angeles County region has also been classified a D2 Drought Zone, meaning there are extreme drought conditions.

The region will see the strongest conditions on Tuesday morning, then they will start to weaken on Wednesday, however, it looks like there could be another Santa Ana on Thursday, though it does not look as strong.

But Mother Nature could be some relief later in the week with a chance of rain on Saturday.

"Hopefully that holds and we'll actually get some precipitation in here by next weekend," Sullivan said.

Sullivan advised residents not already affected by the fires and evacuation orders to make sure they gather up all of their important documents in case they have to leave their homes, and to avoid activities that could start a wildfire like backyard fire pits or weed whacking on dry brush, and parking hot cars on dry grass.

Residents should check with their local fire agency for updates, she said.