Santa Ana winds to push fire danger sky high in Southern California

Alex Sosnowski

5 November 2024 at 1:46 pm·2-min read

Strong northeasterly winds, known as Santa Ana, will howl through the mountains and canyons of Southern California into Thursday, igniting a wildfire risk not seen for years in the region, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.

The combination of building high pressure over the Northwest and strong winds at the level of the atmosphere where jets fly over the Southwest will create a moderate Santa Ana event for Southern California.

"The winds increased later Tuesday night and will continue into Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist John Feerick said adding that the strongest of the winds happened on Wednesday.

Northeasterly winds will frequently gust to 50-60 mph, but powerful gusts in the neighborhood of 80 mph are forecast in the mountains with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mph.

Gusts this strong can lead to property damage and cause significant damage to poorly built structures, Feerick warned.

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"The big risk will be a major surge in wildfire potential not experienced in recent years, with the possibility for power lines coming down, causing sparks and igniting fast-moving blazes," Feerick said.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has issued its highest tier of fire risk--Extremely Critical--including in Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Camarillo and Moorpark, California. This is the first extreme fire risk issued in California since December 2020.

"The Santa Ana winds will be problematic in portions of Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and northwestern Los Angeles counties," Feerick said, "Much of the Los Angeles metro area sits in a bowl-like formation and will be somewhat protected from the strong winds."

Gusts will roar over the ridges and passes and on through the northeast- to southwest-orientated canyons to the Pacific coast. In addition to the fire risk, there is the potential for high-profile vehicle rollovers and areas of blowing dust that can suddenly reduce visibility.

Any wildfire that breaks out has the potential to rage out of control almost immediately and move extremely fast, putting a considerable number of lives and property at risk.

The Santa Ana winds will diminish later Thursday, and the threat of new fires igniting will ease. However, any wildfires that break out may continue over the weekend.

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