Thousands of people could be without power due to high winds expected to hit Southern California like new ones in the coming days The Santa Ana wind movement is approaching.
The National Weather Service issued a “red flag warning for an extremely hazardous situation,” which went into effect Monday night at 8 p.m. and was expected to last at least until 2 p.m. Tuesday for regions including the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains and Calabasas. with the San Gabriel, Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys and the Malibu coastline.
This is the second IBS warning weather officials have issued in two months, with the latest coming in the week of the devastating impacts A mountain fire broke out in Ventura Countyburning almost 20,000 hectares and destroying almost 250 structures.
Read more: What is defensible space and how can you protect your home from wildfires?
A standard red flag warning will then remain in effect until Wednesday at 6 p.m., NWS officials said.
Peak winds could reach temperatures of up to 65 miles per hour in some of the most wind-prone areas, while typical gusts are expected to be between 25 and 40 miles per hour.
“Some of the windy foothills and mountains will likely see winds of 20 to 50 mph with damaging gusts in the 60 to 80 mph range during the peak of the event through Tuesday,” NWS officials said. “Some of the highest wind areas will likely be the San Gabriels, Santa Susanas, western Santa Monica to Malibu, Ventura county valleys (especially Simi Valley and Moorpark) and western San Fernando Valley (especially Highway 118/210 corridors from Porter Ranch to San San Francisco ) are.Fernando).”
Combined with the low humidity, which can reach as low as 5% in some areas, weather officials note that conditions bear a disturbing similarity to those of early November.
The local fire brigade has already started preparations. The Los Angeles County Fire Department says they have “implemented their comprehensive staffing plan by ordering additional staffing and pre-deploying ground and air resources throughout the county.”
Residents have been advised to have evacuation plans in place, especially if they live in areas more prone to fire. They are urged to report any sign of smoke or fire immediately.
Southern California Edison is monitoring the situation and has already notified thousands of customers that their power may need to be turned off to prevent electrical equipment from causing fires during the wind.
