Winds bring elevated risk of fire to dry Bay Area hills

More gusty, bone-dry conditions are expected in the Bay Area, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a red-flag warning Friday for much of the weekend.

The warning, meant to caution people about how quickly a wildfire could spread, affects elevations above 1,000 feet in the North Bay mountains and East Bay hills, particularly around Mount St. Helena and Mount Diablo.

The warning will be in effect from 1 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, although weather officials may extend it if conditions remain hazardous.

“There has been no moisture of any sense into the vegetation,” said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “The vegetation is still as dry as it was a couple months ago, so it’s still very sus-

ceptible to fire.”

Cal Fire is moving crews into areas affected by the red-flag warning and making more aircraft available should they be needed, McLean said.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. had not announced plans to shut off power anywhere as it did during last month’s warm, windy weather. That was done in seven Northern California counties to limit the potential for downed wires to kick up sparks. Cal Fire officials blamed PG&E power lines for at least a dozen of last year’s Wine Country fires.

On Thursday, weather officials issued a fire watch, warning of a lower-level fire danger, but upgraded the alert by 3 a.m. Friday to account for tumbling humidity and offshore winds.

Winds this weekend will range from 15 to 30 mph, while gusts could soar to 60 mph, officials said. Humidity levels are expected to drop to their lowest point Saturday night, to around 8 to 18 percent.

“We’ve moved closer to the actual event occurring and we do see that (hazardous) conditions are likely to develop,” said Drew Peterson, a forecaster for the National Weather Service.

Forecasters also issued a fire weather watch for the Santa Cruz Mountains. Bay Area residents can expect temperatures in the 70s and 80s on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday’s announcement is the second redflag warning for higher elevations in the Bay Area this week. Officials said it is normal to see repeated alerts between late September and early November.

“We see them occurring frequently in the fall,” Peterson said. “Just with all the recent large wildfires in California over recent years, we scrutinize these events pretty closely.”

Fire officials said that residents should take the warnings seriously and prepare emergency kits in case a fire erupts.

“Don’t hesitate if there are evacuation warnings and orders. Leave — this is not a game,” McLean said.