No emergency outages after Santa Ana winds prompted Southern California fire danger warnings
Updated
Fourteen wildfires have spread across an additional 1,200 acres since last Friday at the same time a powerful, low-pressure system is pushing through the region.
In Southern California, the wind patterns are expected to be the new norm this week with gusts up to 65 miles per hour.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is warning that strong cold fronts can cause dangerous winds and can also result in dry conditions.
“While the winds will not push a wildfire northward, they will be pushing moisture and cold air into the region,” said Dan Wiedenheft, public information officer for the Southern California Resource Protection Council.
“Given that this is the third day of the fire season, we will see this pattern repeat on a daily basis.”
The National Weather Service has issued wind warnings and watches for Southern California, including Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County.
“Even though this is the third day of the fire season, we will see this pattern repeat on a daily basis,” Wiedenheft said.
The wildfire situation this week is a familiar one, as it has happened twice this season.
On the first day, it was in the midst of a heat wave, prompting the Santa Ana winds and a high of 116 degrees.
On the second day, a wildfire had been burning in the Santa Ynez Valley for about two months.
In the aftermath, it had spread to more than 1,200 acres.
This week, there have been two fires in the Santa Ana winds. The first spread more than 11,000 acres, and has now grown to 14,000.
The second, which was burning about 10km north of San Jose, has now grown to 10,000 acres in more than a half-day.
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