In Southern California this week, stronger winds and lower humidity levels will increase the risk of wildfires in parched areas recovering from recent devastating fires, forecasters warned Monday.
Winds could strengthen Tuesday through Wednesday, with gusts reaching 80 miles per hour across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the National Weather Service said.
“In addition to rapid fire growth and extreme behavior at the start of a fire, scattered tree falls and power outages are possible,” the Los Angeles National Weather Service said.
Areas where gusty winds blowing across dry vegetation could create “extreme fire conditions” include the smoldering footprint of last month’s wind-driven Franklin Fire. The fire damaged or destroyed 48 structures, including most homes around Malibu.
The fire was one of about 8,000 wildfires that burned more than 1 million acres (more than 404,600 hectares) in the Golden State last year.
Recent dry winds, including the infamous Santa Anas, have led to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has seen little rain so far this season. Meanwhile, up north, there have been several storms so far this season.
The “extreme precipitation gap” between the northern and southern parts of the state is expected to persist throughout the winter, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Swain said in an update to his website Saturday that Northern California weather systems have also experienced relatively warm storms and overall warmer than average temperatures across nearly all of California in recent weeks.
More than 0.1 inch (0.25 cm) of rain has not fallen in Southern California since early May. Most of the region is in moderate drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor.
Swain wrote that parts of San Diego County experienced the driest start to the season in 150 years and the driest nine-month period overall.
