Strong Santa Ana winds are expected to start sweeping across parts of Southern California by Wednesday, Nov. 6 — prompting concerns about potential wildfires.
“All the wind-prone areas in Ventura and Los Angeles counties are going to see pretty significant winds starting late (Tuesday) night or early Wednesday morning,” said Bryan Lewis, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Those stretches include the coasts along Malibu and Santa Monica to the Santa Clarita Valley, through the 101 Freeway corridor to Burbank — and even includes the Oxnard and Ventura areas.
Residents can expect winds upward of 70 miles per hour with temperatures reaching the mid to high 70s.
In some mountain areas, winds could hit even 100.
Down south, in spots such as Santa Ana, Irvine and Fontana and the majority of the Inland Empire, expect winds of up to 60 miles per hour. Orange County can expect temperatures to remain level in the mid to high 70s, with the Inland Empire seeing a decrease to the mid to high 60s.
The expected gusts have prompted red flag warnings — an indication of increased risk of wildfires — for the Santa Ana Mountains, other parts of Orange County, the Inland Empire, Malibu, Santa Monica, Santa Clarita Valley and downtown Los Angeles.
The dry air and high wind speeds create the significant risk.
Electricity could be shut off in some places to reduce the risk of a wildfire.
“We know that there are strong winds forecast for (Wednesday) and Thursday, so we’re going to continue tracking those,” Southern California Edison spokeswoman Gabriela Ornelas said.
The Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department has upped their staffing to ensure its equipped with enough manpower if a wildfire begins, as part of the agency’s usual response under a red flag warning. The Los Angeles County Fire Department has boosted staffing as well and prepared possible ground and aerial responses.
Officials recommended that residents have evacuation plans and supplies in place and stay updated on emergency notifications.
“The emergency management community in L.A. County will be on high alert in the coming days” Kevin McGowan, director of the Office of Emergency Management, said in a statement. “The County’s Emergency Operations Center is activated and monitoring conditions, but we need all residents in L.A. County to be individually prepared by staying informed and being ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice, especially if you live in canyon, mountain or foothill communities.”
