Gusty Winds Prompt Extreme Fire Danger for Orange County

Gusty winds buffeted the Southland amid relatively low humidity today, creating a danger of wildfire ranging from “elevated” to “extreme,” the National Weather Service said.

But as of this morning, a red flag warning, which denotes a high risk of wildfire, was in force only in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. It was scheduled to expire this evening, even though forecasters expect the winds to begin dying down at mid-day.

“A red flag warning is ... in effect for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties from early this morning (4 a.m.) through this evening, where extreme fire danger exists,” said an NWS statement. “The remainder of Southern California has elevated fire danger due to the gusty Santa Ana winds and lowering humidities.”

The humidity level was in the 15-25 percent range overnight and forecast to go down to the 8-18 percent level, said NWS meteorologist Todd Hall in a telephone interview from his monitoring station in Oxnard.

In Orange County, a wind advisory will be in effect until 5 p.m. Winds of between 15 and 30 mph with gusts of up to 50-mph were expected in the areas subject to the wind advisory, prompting the NWS to warn that driving in such conditions could be difficult, especially in high-profile vehicles.

Also in effect today was a coastal flood advisory, which will be in force along the coast until 2 p.m. as a result of high surf and high tides, raising the risk of some coastal flooding, according to the NWS.

The NWS forecast sunny skies today and highs of 80 in Avalon; 81 at LAX; 84 in Newport Beach; 85 in Long Beach and San Clemente; 87 in Mission Viejo; 88 in Anaheim, Laguna Beach and Irvine; 89 in Fullerton; and 90 in Yorba Linda.

Saturday’s temperatures will be around four degrees higher in many communities. The weekend is expected forecast to be sunny, but rain is forecast in the Southland for Monday, followed by showers Tuesday and Wednesday.

City News Service; www.flkr.com