Marin set to bake as heat wave dials up fire risk

Marin could reach the century mark as a scorching fall forecast is expected to bring heightened fire danger to the North and East Bay hills.

Temperatures that could top 100 degrees combined with strong winds at higher elevations prompted the National Weather Service Thursday to issue a fire weather watch for Marin County from 11 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday, said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the weather service.

“It’s going to be in the higher altitudes,” Murdock said. “Winds are expected to reach 35 to 45 mph wind gusts, with a maximum of up to 50 mph gusts at the highest peak. The strongest

winds will be Saturday night going into Sunday morning.”

Inland areas of Marin are expected to gradually warm beginning Saturday, with temperatures in the low 90s, said Roger Gass, a weather service meteorologist.

Sunday and Monday will be the warmest days. Temperatures along the Highway 101 corridor are projected to be in the upper 90s and could top 100 degrees, he said.

Coastal areas of West Marin are expected to be about 70 degrees on Saturday and climb to about 80 on Monday, he said.

High pressure from a front moving in from the Pacific will usher in the heat, said Anna Schneider, a meteorologist with the weather service.

“While the hottest days are Sunday and Monday, it’s probably going to stay pretty warm on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Schneider said. “We expect it to cool off as we move toward end of the week.”

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory for Friday due to the possibility of drift smoke from the August Complex fire burning in the Mendocino National Forest.

“Smoke from the August Complex fire is expected to drift southward into the Bay Area, impacting the North Bay and parts of the East Bay, causing smoky and hazy skies on Friday,” a statement from the air district read. “Air quality is expected to be in the good to moderate range and is not expected to exceed the national 24-hour health standard on Friday.”

The heat is challenging for fire crews, who have been stretched thin since lightning strikes last month started hundreds of fires throughout the state. Crews have extinguished or contained most of blazes, but some wildfires in Big Sur and in Northern California continue to burn.

Any threat of fire in the hills has only gone up in the past month because vegetation has continued to dry out since the last heat wave around Labor Day weekend, forecasters said.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is monitoring the dry, wind event that could lead to a power shutoff for some this weekend, the utility said. The Bay Area is not on the list for a planned blackout, said Tamar Sarkissian, PG&E spokesperson.

“At this point there is no PSPS event has been called for the Bay Area, which includes Marin,” Sarkissian said. “But we are in a PSPS watch and we are opening our emergency operation center and closely monitoring for possibility of a PSPS in the elevated Sierra Nevada foothills and north of Sacramento.”