Heat Causes LAUSD to Cancel Outdoor Activities at Valley Schools

The Southland remained in the cross hairs of a wildfire threat today amid unseasonably high heat, gusty Santa Ana winds and low humidity.

A red flag warning indicating a risk of wildfire will stay in effect in mountain, forest and valley areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties until early this evening. It will expire at 7 p.m.

Valley areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties are expected to experience temperatures in the 100s today and even higher temperatures Saturday.

“The combination of rising temperatures, very low humidity and offshore breezes in combination with critically dry vegetation will bring a high fire danger to much of southwest California through this weekend,” according to a National Weather Service statement.

Winds of between 15 and 20 miles per hour are expected in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains today, gusting to 35 mph, NWS forecasters said.

This morning’s strongest gusts in L.A. County were reported in the San Gabriels: 32 mph in Warm Springs, 29 mph at Whitaker Peak, and 27 mph in Chilao.

The humidity level will be between 4 and 10 percent today, and mountain temperatures will be in the 90s.

“With extremely dry fuels in place, if fire ignition occurs there could be rapid spread of wildfire that would lead to a threat to life and property.”

Given the elevated heat, the Los Angeles Unified School District canceled daytime outdoor activities for students in the San Fernando Valley. Football games scheduled after 7 p.m. will go on as scheduled.

The National Weather Service forecast highs of 83 in San Clemente; 87 in Avalon and Newport Beach; 89 on Mount Wilson; 90 in Palmdale and Lancaster; 91 in Laguna Beach; 95 at LAX; 100 in downtown L.A. and Long Beach; 98 in Saugus; 101 in Irvine and Burbank; 102 in Pasadena, San Gabriel, Anaheim, Mission Viejo and Yorba Linda; 104 in Fullerton; and 105 in Woodland Hills.

Saturday’s temperatures are forecast to be slightly higher, with a cooling trend getting underway Sunday.

A record high for an Oct. 2 was tied Thursday in Long Beach, where the high reached 98 -- the same as on Oct. 2 1995, the NWS reported. To the north, records were set in Oxnard, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.