After a week of strong Santa Ana winds, forecasters have issued wind warnings warning of stronger gusts through parts of Southern California, where speeds are expected to reach around 40 to 60 mph.
The weather advisories are in effect through Tuesday afternoon across much of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, mainly affecting mountains, valleys and some coastal communities. The National Weather Service said north to northeasterly winds of about 20 to 30 mph are forecast from the Santa Ynez Mountains to the Ventura County mountains — with isolated gusts up to 60 mph near Montecito Hills — affecting communities such as Gorman, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Goleta.
The wind advisory is also in effect in the I-5 corridor, and forecasters say the wind could down trees and cause power outages.
“These strong winds may make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles,” the advisory reads. “Be extra careful.”
Farther south, forecasters are warning of high winds through coastal areas and valleys of Ventura and LA counties, including the Malibu coast, the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Santa Paula.
Winds in these areas are expected to blow from north to northeast at speeds of 25 to 30 km/h, with gusts of up to 60 km/h in the valleys and 80 km/h in the mountains. Forecasters also warned of the possible falling of trees and power lines, which would pose risks due to the strong winds.
Some of those same parts of Ventura County were battered by Santa Ana winds last week, fire officials and forecasters say drove the flames of the huge mountain fire. On the day the wildfire started, winds reached up to 60 miles per hour in Camarillo, an area that reached 60 miles per hour particularly hard-hit area where several houses were burned to the ground within the first few hours.
The wildfire injured several people and destroyed more than 200 structures while destroying more than 20,000 hectares within its first two days, an area roughly equivalent to about 32 square kilometers. Firefighters have since made progress with calmer weather conditions.
When the fire first broke out, the area was under a high level red flag warning due to other weather-related wildfire risks. There are currently no Red Flag Warnings in effect throughout Southern California.
