Red flag fire warnings, high winds are in forecast

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Parts of Los Angeles County, including the LA County Mountains, will be under a high-fire-danger “red flag warning,” on Wednesday, with the National Weather Service today forecasting the first strong Santa Ana event of the season.

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly.

“A combination of strong winds and low relative humidity can contribute to extreme fire behavior,” according to the weather service. “Use extreme caution with potential fire ignition sources.”

Earlier Monday, the weather service had issued a less severe fire weather watch. But the agency upgraded its caution to the red flag level just before 2 p.m., Monday.

The red flag warning will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, though the strong winds — fueled by high pressure building into the Great Basin — are expected to kick up during the overnight hours today.

Besides the LA County mountains, areas expected to be affected include the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, the Malibu coast and the Santa Monica Mountains. The red flags also extend to much of Ventura County.

In the LA County mountains, the weather service was forecasting damaging northeast winds with gusts peaking at 55 mph.