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The National Weather Service has issued red flag wildfire warnings across Southern California from Thursday evening through Saturday morning, citing the dry weather conditions and strong, gusty winds.
National Weather Service told LAist the warning will be in effect from 8 p.m. Thursday to 10 a.m. Saturday. It includes the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Barbara County's south coast and mountains, the Ventura County Mountains, and Los Angeles County Mountains.
Winds are predicted to blow at 15 to 25 mph, possibly reaching 35 mph. These winds, combined with the low relative humidity in the area, mean there will be potential for "rapid spread of wildfire and extreme fire behavior" if fire ignition occurs. NWS recommends keeping an eye out for rising smoke and notifying the fire department immediately if a fire starts.
Gusty N winds+very low humidities could bring critical fire wx conditions to parts of western LA county Thu night-Sat morning. #LAWeather pic.twitter.com/xP1s2m3DMy
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) October 12, 2017
Red Flag Warnings now expanded to include #SCV, San Fernando Vly, and Santa Monica Mtns later tonight thru Sat morning. #LAWeather #cawx
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) October 12, 2017
Earlier this week, a fast-moving wildfire in Anaheim prompted evacuations of around 5,000 homes. It eventually destroyed or damaged over 50 structures. Evacuation orders have all been lifted and the wildfire is now 60% contained, according to City News Service.
Up north, the Bay Area and wine country are seeing rising death tolls and missing persons numbers as a result of the massive Napa and Sonoma County wildfires.