Bay Area Weather: Fire Danger Soars At Temperatures Rise, Winds Increase

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A high pressure system parking over the Pacific Coast was sending temperatures soaring early Tuesday, elevating wildfire fears in the Northern California.

Fire strike teams were put on alert from Marin County across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco to the far reaches of Lake County as humidity levels tumbled and drying winds increased.

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"(The) weather pattern will result in a robust warming trend through this afternoon lasting into Wednesday afternoon as well," the National Weather Service warned. "Look for widespread temperatures in the 90s across the interior (of the Bay Area) with the warmest inland locations reaching between 100-104 degrees by early/mid afternoon."

New this year in @CityofSantaRosa, if a red flag warning is in effect, you'll see an actual red flag flying in front of every @SantaRosaFire station. pic.twitter.com/VXzcwj7aVc

— Jackie Ward (@JackieKPIX) September 24, 2019

A Red Flag Warning continued to be in place Tuesday for the North Bay Mountains, East Bay Hills, and Diablo Range through Wednesday morning. In addition, a Heat Advisory was in effect across the interior and around the San Francisco Bay shoreline through 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"While winds may relax briefly this morning and early afternoon, they will again increase during the late evening and overnight hours tonight," the weather service warned. "Relative humidities will also bottom out in the teens to lower 20s this afternoon to support continued concerns through the day."

When it comes to winds, forecasters said gusts could approach 40 mph as the days progresses.

"North to northeast winds 10 to 25 mph with gusts 30 to 35 mph," the weather service forecasters predicted. "Locally higher gusts to 40 mph in the North Bay Mountains possible, particularly in Sonoma and Napa counties."

At around 12:30 p.m., PG&E announced that they would continue to monitor the weather and might still need to shut off power overnight in the North Bay with plans to make a final decision on a shutoff Tuesday afternoon.

While the threat of power outages still looms in the North Bay, it is already a reality in the Sierra foothills.

24,000 customers have had their power shut off because of the fire risk.

Some of them are furious with PG&E for not helping them with generators to keep their wells working.

It's unclear how long the outages will last because PG&E has to wait for an "all-clear" on the red-flag warnings.

The Santa Rosa Fire Department is facing the dual threats of fire and potential power outage. The combination has led to increased staff and equipment.

"The theory being, if the fire starts, we're going to throw a lot of equipment at it really quick to try to keep the fire small," said Santa Rosa Fire Deputy Fire Chief Scott Westrope.

Standing by is an OES-funded strike team made up of five engines, a leader, a water tender and additional dispatchers in the dispatch center.

There is also a county-funded task force consisting of eight pieces of equipment plus a leader. Cal fire has stocked up as well, with aircrafts, dozers, crews and engines available at a moment's notice.

"It's what we do compared to October 2017. We just don't want to live through that again," said Santa Rosa Deputy Fire Chief Scott Westrope. "So a little bit of work and a little bit of lost sleep now to prevent something like that is well worth it."

A possible public safety power shutdown still might happen Tuesday night, but PG&E has lowered the estimated number of people it will affect in Sonoma County to 18,000, including 5,500 in the city of Santa Rosa.

Residents were doing their best to prepare.

"I do have generators. I have extra food, I've got extra water," said Gary Mezzanares of Santa Rosa. "I'm set up so if anything does happen, I've got my papers ready to grab."

"I'm very concerned that enough may not have been done to make sure that we don't have another like we did," said Rohnert Park resident Cheri Cybulski.

Concerned was etched on Marin Fire's Brett McTigue as he looked over the dry hills above Mill Valley. For McTigue, the question is not if a wildfire will erupt in the hills; it's when.

"It hasn't burned in a long time," he said. "But we are due for a major catastrophic fire."

The weather service also issued a heat advisory for the entire Bay Area running through Wednesday evening. Here are some tips to survive the warmest parts of the day.

• Limit outdoor strenuous activities during the hottest time of the day
• Do not leave kids or pets in vehicles
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Watch for hot pavement when walking dogs
• When at the coast to cool off, be on look out for rip currents

Santa Rosa city officials have opened a cooling center for Tuesday and Wednesday as temperatures warm in the North Bay and around the Bay Area. The Finley Community Center will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days and is located at 2060 W. College Ave.

City officials said the forecast, which calls for a high temperature Tuesday of 103 degrees, would not typically prompt the opening of a cooling center. But one is being opened because of the potential for a public safety power shutoff.

Pacific Gas & Electric will also being monitoring conditions on Tuesday to determine if they will put in place a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) for residents in Lake, Napa or Sonoma counties as a wildfire precaution. The utility determined such a shut off was not necessary on Monday.

PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff: Map of potential shutoff areas

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"Our staff has been diligently planning to adequately respond to the effects of this event," Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chair David Rabbitt said. "However, we want to remind our residents that the decision to turn off the power and the speed at which it is restored is planned and managed solely by PG&E."

The utility did shut off power to about 24,000 customers in three counties Monday -- portions of Butte, Nevada and Yuba counties in the Sierra foothills.

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