High wind event expands threat of wildfire spread

An unusually strong and far-reaching high wind event is descending upon California today through Wednesday, bringing damaging winds and the threat of fast-moving wildfires from Sacramento to San Francisco and southward to Los Angeles. The region is dry enough, with hardly any rain having fallen recently in Southern California, that the high winds are prompting concerns about midwinter wildfires after the state’s worst wildfire season on record in 2020.

The winds follow several days of record-breaking heat that has amplified fire danger, particularly in Southern California, which saw temperatures soar into the 80s and 90s in the middle of a largely dry winter.

The high winds alone, with gusts of up to 90 mph in the hills of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and up to 70 mph in some valley locations, are likely to cause significant disruptions in the form of power outages and downed trees.