Screencap/ABC7 video via AP
LOS ANGELES – Another round of destructive Santa Ana winds battered much of the region Tuesday, fueling a massive brush fire in Malibu and raising fears of additional blazes across the Southland, with the windy and dry conditions expected to linger into Wednesday.
As expected, the winds began whipping Monday night, helping the Franklin Fire in Malibu chew its way into thick vegetation and grow to more than 2,200 acres as of early Tuesday morning. A “minimal” number of homes in the area were destroyed or damaged, fire officials said, although no numbers were immediately available. No injuries were reported, but about 18,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings.
According to the National Weather Service, wind gusts approached nearly 50 mph in parts of Malibu overnight. To the north, a gust of 93 mph was reported near the Magic Mountain Truck Trail in the Santa Clarita area.
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“Still getting reports of gusts to 60+ in the San Gabriels, Santa Susanas, and western Santa Monicas, however, winds at the Franklin Fire have dropped off as the northerly component to the winds weakens and winds veer to the east,” according to a late-morning statement from the NWS. “As this shift occurs the stronger winds in the Santa Monicas will mainly be west of Point Dume.”
The NWS issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning” that will be in effect until 2 p.m. Tuesday for the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Clarita Valley, Western San Fernando Valley, Calabasas, the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway corridor and the Malibu coast. While that warning will expire at 2 p.m., a standard red flag warning will remain in place in most of those areas until 6 p.m. Wednesday, but it was scheduled to expire at 2 p.m. Wednesday for the Malibu Coast, according to the NWS.
Standard red flag warnings will also be in effect until 6 p.m.
ADVERTISEMENTWednesday for the eastern San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and the Golden State (5) Freeway corridor.
Although the winds are expected to drop off after 2 p.m., it wilstill be a “very windy day” across most of the region, exacerbated by dry conditions noted by low humidity levels, forecasters said. Wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph will still be possible in traditionally wind-prone mountain and foothill areas.
“The very dry air and cool airmass will allow wind sheltered interior locations to cool rapidly tonight and its likely that some areas (notably the Antelope Valley) will need a freeze warning (Tuesday night),” according to the NWS. “The good news is that the winds on Wednesday look much lighter as there will be onshore trends and little to no upper level or thermal support.”
ADVERTISEMENTMore clouds are also in the forecast starting Wednesday as a new weather system moves in, bringing a chance of “some light rain across the area Thursday and Saturday.”
As is typical during red flag conditions, Southern California Edison advised thousands of customers that they could be subject to power cuts designed to prevent electrical equipment from sparking wildfires during threatening winds.
As of late morning Tuesday, nearly 11,400 SCE customers in Los Angeles County were without power due to the Public Safety Power Shutoffs, along with 452 in Orange County and more than 9,500 in Riverside County. Not surprisingly, the majority of the intentional power cuts in Los Angeles County were focused in the fire-impacted Malibu area. (CNS)
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