Crime & Safety
Red Flag Alert Issued in Southland Communities
Weather officials again warned residents of increased fire danger this week as Santa Ana winds blew across the Southland.
Gusty Santa Ana winds blew across the Southland today amid rising heat and falling humidity, creating an "elevated fire danger'' in the region expected to last until Friday, National Weather Service forecasters said.
"Gusty offshore winds and hot temperatures will bring red flag warning conditions to the mountains and most valley portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Thursday,'' according to an NWS advisory. "The unusually dry fuels for this time of the year may create extreme fire behavior if ignition occurs.''
A red flag warning signifying a high risk of wild fire went into effect this morning in the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and will take effect at 8 p.m. in the Santa Monica Recreational Area. It is scheduled to expire at 5 p.m. Thursday but could be extended.
Find out what's happening in Altadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"A late-season offshore wind event'' will bring moderate-to-strong winds to the mountains and valleys of Los Angeles and Ventura counties starting today, with the winds spreading to coastal areas tonight, according to forecasters.
Watch Patch video of fire officials speaking about increased fire danger here.
Find out what's happening in Altadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
National Weather Service projects Thursday’s high to be near 93 degrees with wind gusts reaching as high as 30 mph in Altadena. Forecasters said they expect winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour gusting to 35-40 mph in the valleys. In the mountains, 20-30 mile-per-hour winds accompanied by 45-mph gusts are expected.
Click here for this week's forecast for Altadena.
The NWS forecast highs today of 67 in Newport Beach; 68 in Avalon; 69 on
Mount Wilson and at LAX; 76 in Long Beach; 77 in downtown L.A.; 80 in Anaheim; 82 in San Gabriel and Palmdale; 83 in Lancaster; 85 in Pasadena; 86 in Burbank; 88 in Woodland Hills; and 91 in Saugus.
Thursday's temperatures will be higher -- more than 10 degrees higher in some communities -- and again will rise sharply on Friday. Downtown L.A, for example, is forecast to have a high of 95 Friday -- 18 degrees higher than today.
