Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Santa Ana winds gusting up to 70 mph, humidity as low as 5 percent, and October heat put much of Southern California under red flag warnings Thursday and Friday, with Southern California Edison weighing power shutoffs for more than 37,700 customers.
Southern California is heading into its first strong Santa Ana wind event of the fall. The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings from 6 a.m. Thursday, October 15, through 10 p.m. Friday, October 16. The warnings cover large parts of Los Angeles County, including the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains, Malibu, and Calabasas. They also cover the Santa Clarita, San Fernando, and San Gabriel valleys, plus the Interstate 5 and Antelope Valley Freeway corridors.
The numbers explain the warning. Gusts could reach 70 mph in the most exposed parts of the San Gabriel Mountains and near 50 mph in other Los Angeles County communities. High wind watches cover parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the Inland Empire, the Santa Ana Mountains, and the San Gorgonio Pass, where gusts of 50 to 65 mph or more are possible. Mountain and valley areas of San Diego County are under watches through Saturday evening. Humidity is forecast at 8 to 20 percent in the mountains and as low as 5 percent elsewhere. Heat stacks on top of the wind. Heat advisories cover much of Los Angeles and Orange counties from Thursday morning through Saturday, with highs in the mid 90s possible by Friday.
Southern California Edison is weighing Public Safety Power Shutoffs to keep its lines from sparking a fire. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 37,700 customers in Los Angeles County were under consideration. No one had lost power yet. Malibu officials said the shutoffs could start as early as Thursday morning. That count is expected to change as the forecast firms up, and other counties may be added.
A planned shutoff is a power outage you get to see coming, which is the best kind. Charge phones, power banks, and any battery power station on Wednesday. Freeze jugs of water to keep the refrigerator cold longer. Pull together a power outage kit with lights, a radio, and a cooler so nobody digs through drawers in the dark. If someone in the house depends on a CPAP machine, an oxygen concentrator, or refrigerated medication, size your backup power to those needs first. Shutoffs during wind events can last a day or more, so plan for how to prepare for a power outage that runs past the first night.
Wind and dry brush are the other half of this forecast. A fire that starts in these conditions can move faster than an evacuation order. Keep a packed bug out bag by the door and a full tank of gas in the car, since pumps need power too. Learn the signs of wildfire evacuation and leave early if you live near the hills. Clearing leaves from gutters and moving patio cushions inside is a quick start on protecting your property against wildfires.
Where it stands now: the warnings start Thursday morning, and the winds are expected to ease over the weekend. No fires tied to this event had been reported as of Tuesday. Check your address on the Southern California Edison outage page, sign up for county emergency alerts, and confirm your evacuation zone before Thursday. Be Prepared Not Scared!
