First Santa Ana winds of season bring fire danger to L.A. Thursday and Friday – Los Angeles Times

First Santa Ana winds of season bring fire danger to L.A. Thursday and Friday  Los Angeles Times

The season's first Santa Ana wind event will begin Wednesday and ramp up Thursday, bringing significant fire risk to parched Los Angeles County. Between Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon, large swaths of Southern California will see sustained winds of 20 to 40 mph and gusts from 40 to 60 mph, according to Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. In the windiest mountain locations, gusts could reach up to 70 mph, he said. "In this environment where it's going to be windy but also dry and warm" — with humidity between 5% and 15% in much of the region and high temperatures of 85 to 95 degrees — fire risk will be a major concern, he said.

"Adding to that, the plants are very dry." Although Southern California got some rain Sunday and Monday, the most of it fell in areas south of Los Angeles County, Kittell said, leaving Los Angeles and Ventura counties very dry. "There's a high risk for any new fires to grow really fast," he said. The weather service issued red-flag warnings for most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties that will be in effect Thursday and Friday. Areas west of the 405 Freeway are at a greater risk for wildfire than those east of the 405, which benefited from rain from