Laguna Niguel Braces For Santa Anas: Fire, Wind Advisory

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA — It's time to batten down the hatches and secure your outdoor furniture in Laguna Niguel and all Orange County foothill areas.

Santa Ana winds and critical fire weather return to the Southland this week. With them, a fire weather watch will be in place for the valleys and mountains of inland Orange County from Wednesday night to Saturday night, the NWS says.

Any fires that develop could spread rapidly, and outdoor burning of any kind is not recommended for the remainder of the week.

Winds upwards of 30 miles per hour are expected across inland Orange County, with gusts up to 55 miles per hour. Isolated gusts could reach 70 miles per hour, Wednesday and Thursday nights, according to the National Weather Service.

Moderate to strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity will create the critical wildfire danger.

"Gusty north to northeast winds for the next several nights and mornings will turn primarily northeasterly for the latter half of the week," Alexander Tardy of the NWS reported. "Damaging Santa Ana winds are possible across the mountains between Thursday and Friday."

A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur.