Another round of fire weather in Southern California could linger for much of next week, bringing new dangers as Pacific Palisades, Altadena and surrounding communities grapple with the consequences of devastating wildfires earlier this month. loss,
“The bottom line is: We’re in uncharted territory during the winter or wet season,” with little to no rain, said Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s San Diego office.
Fire weather is expected to return on Monday after winds largely calmed over the weekend, with the threat peaking on Tuesday but likely continuing into Thursday, forecasters said. Ross Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office, said red flag fire weather warnings are possible in parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
All of this fire weather is occurring during an ongoing record drought. The last day that more than a tenth of an inch of rain fell in a single day in downtown Los Angeles was May 5. Still going on.
It’s a downtown record — the last time downtown Los Angeles went without at least a tenth of an inch of rain was 253 consecutive days between February 25, 2008, and November 3, 2008.
Across Southern California, this year is off to the driest start to a water year on record, a record that has been broken. Very little rainfall occurred during the three-and-a-half-month period that began on October 1, so LAX, UCLA, Van Nuys, Woodland Hills, and Camarillo were among the driest airports during that period period.
For downtown Los Angeles, only 0.16 inches of rain has fallen since the start of the water year on October 1. It accounts for 3% of the city’s average rainfall at this time of year.
The severe dryness, coupled with Santa Ana winds week after week, is unusual.
Mild Santa Ana winds are currently forecast for Monday and Tuesday, with gusts of 30 to 50 mph expected in the Santa Ana wind corridor in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Peak wind gusts on Monday and Tuesday could reach 32 mph in Lancaster, 33 mph in Canoga Park, 39 mph in Oxnard and Beaumont, 44 mph in Pyramid Lake, and 47 mph in Fillmore. / hour, Santa Clarita 48 mph and Acton 51 mph.
Santa Ana winds are expected to blow from east to northeast, “mainly affecting northern and western areas of Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County,” Schoenfeld said. With wind gusts of 30 mph to 50 mph, and around 60 mph around the mountains, “any new fires will cause localized fires to spread very quickly,” Schoenfeld said.
The air is also expected to be very dry. On Tuesday, relative humidity could be as low as 5% in Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Cangoa Park, Fillmore, Santa Clarita, Acton and Pyramid Lake. “If new fires break out, this will cause localized fires to spread rapidly,” Schoenfeld said.
The forecast will become clearer in the coming days.
The Palisades and Eaton fires have destroyed more than 11,000 structures and killed at least 27 people. The Palisades Fire has burned 23,713 acres and was 43% contained as of Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire. The Eaton Fire has scorched 14,117 acres and is 73% contained.
Meanwhile, the search for missing fire victims continues.
