Santa Ana winds continued to swirl across Southern California, with low humidity creating high risk fire weather through Saturday, though cooldowns and higher humidity will bring some reprieve as the weekend continues, forecasters said.
Fires broke out in Malibu and San Clemente amid the intense winds on Thursday, Oct. 15 and Friday, Oct. 16.
Los Angeles County
In Los Angeles County, red flag warnings were in place, which are triggered by low humidity, 15% or less, and high winds, 25 mph or higher. The warnings are in place until 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Temperatures were in the high 90s on Friday, expected to drop to the mid to lower 90s on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. A further cooldown is expected Sunday, with rain on the forecast by Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the agency.
Public safety power shutoffs affected over 57,000 Southern California Edison customers in Los Angeles County, with another 58,000 customers under consideration for shutoffs, which are done to prevent utility equipment from potentially sparking fires.
A heat advisory was in place until 8 p.m. on Saturday, for Los Angeles County Beaches, Los Angeles County Inland Coast including Downtown Los Angeles and Palos Verdes Hills, with temperatures up to 95 degrees expected.
Orange County
In Orange County, a heat advisory and wind advisory were in place in the county’s inland areas, including Garden Grove, Mission Viejo, Fullerton and Orange.
Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine and Orange, according to the National Weather Service. The heat advisory warned of temperatures up to 95 degrees and lasts until 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16. The wind advisory is in place until 12 p.m. Saturday, due to expected winds of 15 mph, with gusts up to 25 to 35 mph.
Winds are expected to decrease in the afternoon and evening on Friday in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, Jonathan Suk, meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.
Moving into the weekend, wind speeds are expected to decrease and humidity levels are expected to rise in Orange County, Suk said.
Winds of 15-20 mph are expected to continue. Earlier in the day, gusts over 60 mph were seen in Fremont Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains, Suk said.
“We’re already past those peaks we’ve seen earlier today, those stronger winds… that 15-25 (mph) is hopefully going to continue to decrease for the rest of the day and then by Saturday, we could see some stronger gusts back in San Clemente and the mountains of Orange County,” Suk said.
Friday’s high 80s and mid 90s temperatures across Orange County were expected to dip slightly on Saturday, but could still reach the low 90s.
Inland Empire
Santa Ana winds are continuing to blow in the Inland Empire, though the region is at a lower fire risk due to recent rain. Relative humidity is set to rise in the area in the coming days, while there will also be less wind, Suk said.
“We are still seeing some of the winds up there, the mountain ridgelines are going to be the strongest spots,” he said.
Wind gusts Saturday are expected to be 15 mph in Riverside and San Bernardino, while Ontario may see slightly higher wind speeds, around 20 mph and mountainous areas could see 35 mph winds, with gusts of up to 45-50 mph.
“We’re definitely elevated to approaching near critical for fire conditions, but with the recent rains and the humidity staying slightly higher…” there is a lowered risk, he said.
Temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s were reached on Friday, but temperatures will be cooler on Saturday, in the upper 80s and mid 80s, Suk said.