SoCal Fire Threat Looms Sunday As Dry Winds Wallop The Region

LOS ANGELES, CA — Elevated temperatures and dry winds were expected to hammer Southern California on Sunday, triggering power shut offs for thousands and raising wildfire potential.

"Remember that any new fire start will likely grow quickly and could become a large, destructive fire," National Weather Service officials tweeted.

Red flag warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for Ventura and Los Angeles counties through Sunday in anticipation of intense Santa Ana winds.

Winds whipped through Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties on Saturday night and traveled further south early Sunday morning. Santa Ana gusts of 70 mph hit the western San Gabriel Mountains around 3:30 a.m., according to weather service officials in Los Angeles.

Fire departments across the Southland were gearing up for the potential of "extreme" wildfire danger over the weekend, with agencies warning that new blazes would likely spread quickly.

"With a RED FLAG Warning in effect for most of LA and Ventura Counties, use extra caution! Any new fire will have a fast rate of spread, long range spotting up to 2 miles ahead of the fire, flame lengths potentially up to 60 feet," weather service officials tweeted.

Southland residents were urged to avoid lighting campfires, using any mowing, weed-whacking or welding equipment, target shooting, driving near dry grass or smoking in areas with dry vegetation.

Due to the extreme conditions, more than 15,000 Southern California Edison customers could lose power Sunday as part of a Public Safety Power Shutoff event, the utility announced.

As of Sunday morning, some 1,166 customers in Los Angeles, 22 customers in Riverside County, 560 customers in San Bernardino County and 4 customers in Ventura County had power shut off.

"When there are potentially dangerous weather conditions in fire-prone areas, we may need to call a PSPS event," the utility said. "During these events, we will proactively turn off power in high fire risk areas to reduce the threat of wildfires."

In 2021, some 8,367 wildfires have charred 3,083,507 acres in the Golden State. Three people have died in wildfires this year and 3,629 structures have been destroyed.

What's more, lightning-sparked wildfires have killed thousands of giant sequoias this year, leading to a staggering two-year death toll that accounts for up to nearly a fifth of Earth's largest trees, officials said Friday.

Fires in Sequoia National Park and surrounding Sequoia National Forest tore through more than a third of groves in California and torched an estimated 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias, which are the largest trees by volume.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Here are the latest peak winds with our #SantaAna since 330am PST. Highest gust of 70 mph in the western San Gabriel Mountains! #CAwx #LAwind #LAweather https://t.co/74Fv2nLFbK pic.twitter.com/eWStmU7DD2
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) November 21, 2021