What you need to know
Strong wind gusts are expected to increase late Monday morning and peak Monday night into Tuesday. The hardest-hit areas will be the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains, Ventura County Valley, and western San Fernando Valley. A red flag warning will be in effect from Monday. Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Strong winds in Santa Ana, with gusts up to 105 mph, were blowing back into inland and mountainous areas, prompting a red flag warning for all of Southern California.
Winds through the mountains and valleys will reach their peak Monday night into Tuesday. The force and duration of the winds will bring very dangerous fire weather conditions to the region.
Damaging winds of 40 to 65 mph are expected to hit wind-prone coastal and valley areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
A red flag warning of specified hazardous situation (PDS) has been issued across multiple counties.
“We could go a few years without seeing PDS, but it wasn’t that long ago that we actually saw it, in early November,” NBCLA meteorologist Stephanie Olmos said. “You may remember from the Ventura County wildfires, that was a situation where we actually had a PDS.”
The combination of dry conditions, wind, and warm weather can create dangerous fire conditions.
Strong wind gusts, combined with dry fuel, increase the likelihood of a ignition spreading quickly.
The worst affected areas will be the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Susana Mountains, the western Santa Monica Mountains to Malibu, the Ventura County Valley, the western San Fernando Valley, and the Camarillo to eastern Ventura region.
The red flag warning will be in effect from 10 a.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Wednesday.
SoCal Edison notified more than 200,000 customers that they may have to turn off their power during the red flag warning.
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