Forecasters Warn of New 'Extremely Critical' Fire Risk in Southern California as Blazes Continue to Burn
Mild temperatures and low humidity are expected to contribute to "dangerous fire weather conditions" through Tuesday, Jan. 21
Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty
Flames from a brush fire pushed by gusting Santa Ana winds approach homes on January 7, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, Los AngelesAnother Santa Ana wind storm is expected to impact Southern California and pose a new, dangerous risk as the L.A. fires continue to burn.
Some portions of Southern California are under an “extremely critical risk of fire weather” beginning Monday, Jan. 20, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Forecasters say mild temperatures, low humidity and “the return of very strong winds” to these areas “will lead to dangerous fire weather conditions” into Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Related: TV Producer Teams Up with Neighbors to Use Garden Hoses to Save 7 Homes from Deadly Eaton Fire
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has warned of a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" from 12 p.m. local time on Monday through 10 a.m. on Tuesday for many of the areas that have been impacted by wildfires for the last two weeks.
The warning area stretches from Big Pines and communities north of Pomona to Ventura and Oxnard, including areas impacted by both the Palisades and Eaton fires as well as Malibu, Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Burbank.
⚠️POWERFUL & DAMAGING SANTA ANA WINDSTORM INCOMING!!⚠️
Take action now to prepare your home and loved ones for another round of EXTREME WIND and FIRE WEATHER, staring tomorrow afternoon! Worst winds Mon afternoon - Tue morning. #CAwx #SantaAnaWinds pic.twitter.com/CuhRHgOTjF— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 19, 2025
About 12.8 million people in Southern California are under red flag warnings, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Peak wind gusts across the coastline and valleys may reach up to 70 mph, while those in the mountains and foothills could see gusts up to 100 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
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Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Oxnard, said this will be “a powerful damaging wind event” and warned those in the path of danger to be prepared for what he described as an “extreme episode of fire weather.”
“This is not the time to be taking this weather lightly at all,” Cohen told the Chronicle. “We’re on the cusp of another extreme event.”
Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/ Los Angeles Daily News via Getty
The Palisades fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, January 7, 2024.The Eaton and Palisades Fires, which sparked during the last major wind event earlier this month, are still burning.
The Palisades Fire has burned 23,713 acres of land and is currently 59% contained, according to data from Cal Fire. The Eaton Fire has burned 14,021 acres of land and is currently 87% contained.
The death toll from the L.A. fires is at least 27, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office.
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