Southern California braces for "life-threatening and destructive" winds and perilous fire weather
The Southern California region is preparing for a "life-threatening and destructive windstorm" caused by strong Santa Ana winds Tuesday, weather officials say.
The National Weather Service has issued several warnings including a red flag warning and a high wind warning for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The NWS said there is an extreme risk of fire weather conditions.
Weather officials predict this weather event will "likely be the most destructive windstorm seen since 2011." The last significant windstorm caused extensive damage to Pasadena and foothills in the San Gabriel Valley.
A red flag warning has been issued for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday through 6 p.m. Thursday. A high wind advisory will go into effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday and will remain until 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Some of the locations with the greatest concern:
- 118 and 210 corridors
- Santa Monica mountains and foothills
- San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys
- Pasadena
- Burbank
- Hollywood
- Sylmar
- Malibu
Weather officials urge residents to stay indoors and away from windows. Damaging wind gusts could reach up to 80 mph while isolated gusts for mountain and foothill areas could reach up to 100 mph.
The NWS said people should use extreme caution with any sources that could ignite a fire. They've issued a fire weather watch from Thursday into Friday. The low humidity and dry vegetation conditions could spark wildfires.
Cal Fire has already been taking steps to ensure crews are ready for any emergencies. They are deploying additional firefighting resources throughout the state. In a statement Monday, Cal Fire said it has 45 additional engines ready for deployment in Southern California.
Potential public safety power shutoffs
As of Tuesday morning, Southern California Edison has not reported any public safety power shutoffs. Some of the most affected areas that are being considered for public safety shutoffs are Los Angeles, Ventura and Riverside counties.
- Los Angeles County: 113,871
- Ventura County: 91,149
- Riverside County: 123,056
- Orange County: 12,871
- San Bernardino County: 67,233
- Santa Barbara County: 4,182
- Kern County: 3,253
Officials are concerned that wind gusts could cause downed powerlines.
"The winds combined with locally dry vegetation will increase the risk of wildfire, meaning Public Safety Power Shutoffs may be necessary to protect homes and communities. SCE crews are also ready to quickly and safely respond to power outages due to extreme high winds that are not due to PSPS," the SCE website said.
Some residents are already experiencing power outages that are not part of the scheduled public safety shutoffs. SoCal Edison currently reports 64 outages that are affecting over 7,000 customers in various counties.
Cities bracing for impact
In preparation for a potentially damaging windstorm, the Santa Monica and Malibu Unified School District Superintendent announced all Malibu schools will be closed Tuesday.
In a message to families and staff Dr. Antonio Shelton said, "This includes Malibu Elementary, Webster Elementary, Malibu Middle and Malibu High schools. Santa Monica schools remain open. We continue to monitor the situation along with our partners including the City of Malibu and So Cal Edison and will keep you informed of plans for reopening."
The California Department of Transportation announced Topanga Canyon Boulevard will be closed between Mulholland Drive and Pacific Coast Highway to non-residents starting at 10 a.m.Tuesday until 6 p.m. Friday. They encourage drivers to use alternate routes during the closure.
In Pasadena, the fire department issued parking restrictions in places where there are "narrow and/or winding roads" in the city's "urban-wildland interface areas."
