Santa Ana Winds

The National Weather Service on Saturday issued red flag warnings for Los Angeles and Ventura counties as autumn's first Santa Ana winds increased the risk of wildfires in Southern California. The warnings will be in effect today through Tuesday because forecasts call for an extended period of dry weather and strong northeast winds, a weather service spokesman said. Red flag warnings are issued when wind speeds reach 25 mph or greater and the relative humidity is 15% or less. Meteorologists predict that the strongest winds will occur Monday and Tuesday mornings, when gusts up to 60 mph are possible in the mountains and foothills.

Even as firefighters continue fighting the Station fire, the largest brush fire in Los Angeles County history, an emotionally charged issue is flaring over how to avoid a repeat of the disastrous 2007 fires in San Diego County. On Thursday, the Public Utility Commission is set to vote on a San Diego Gas & Electric Co. proposal to turn off power to some back-country areas during fire-prone times of high winds and low humidity. The fires, which burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,500 homes, were caused by sparking electrical wires blown down by unusually fierce Santa Ana winds.

Calmer winds Tuesday kept the largest of two San Fernando Valley wildfires from making a run toward the sea, averting a disaster scenario that has played out regularly over recent decades. The blazes, which have claimed two lives, destroyed 49 structures and burned 18,000 acres, heralded the start of Southern California's Santa Ana season, when desert winds fan the most ferocious fires. By some measures, the region got off lightly.

Summer turned out to be a cooler than normal dud this year. But October dressed up as summer this Halloween season. With eight scorchers over 90 degrees this month, Los Angeles has been in the midst of the second-hottest October since 1877, according to climate records. "It's the summer we never had," said William Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge. The average daytime temperature in downtown Los Angeles this month has been 84.3 degrees, he said.

Powerful Santa Ana winds began to sweep across Southern California late Saturday, with gusts of up to 80 mph expected in places as extremely blustery weather continues through Tuesday afternoon, increasing road and fire hazards. The strongest winds are expected in eastern Ventura and western Los Angeles counties below canyon passes, meteorologists said, but gusts in the L.A. Basin could reach up to 65 mph as early as this morning.

Thousands of Southern California homes could be at risk in coming days as powerful Santa Ana winds continue to stoke wildfires, fire officials said. Blazes on Sunday scorched thousands of acres from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara County, destroyed at least 39 homes and other buildings and killed at least one person.

The strong winds and high temperatures responsible for fanning Southern California's wildfires aren't expected to subside until Wednesday evening, giving the region a mild respite, although no signs of rain are in the immediate forecast, weather officials said Monday. The region faces at least a day-and-a-half more of powerful gusts, low humidity and temperatures creeping into the low 90s, said Edan Lindaman, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

Long Beach is more than 40 miles from the nearest wildfire raging in Southern California. But its air pollution levels surged in recent days beyond the "unhealthy" level set by air-quality regulators. Because of Southern California's quirky topography and wind patterns, neighborhoods with no danger of wildfires are often the ones most affected by wind-driven smoke.

Under cool, moist skies, firefighters on Saturday made significant strides against the remaining fires in Southern California. Displaced residents streamed back to their homes, and hard-hit San Diegans prepared to cheer on their Chargers in a football stadium that, just days before, had been an emergency shelter for thousands. Firefighters hoped that balmy temperatures would help them maintain their gains on many fronts today.