LOS ANGELES – Multiple brush fires erupted across Los Angeles County on Thursday as powerful Santa Ana winds and rising temperatures whipped up critical wildfire conditions across the region.
Red Flag Warning
What we know: — National Weather Service forecasters issued Red Flag Warnings through 8 p.m. Saturday, warning that damaging wind gusts—reaching up to 75 mph in mountain areas—and humidity dropping into the single digits create an extreme risk for rapid fire growth.
To lower the risk of power lines sparking new blazes, Southern California Edison initiated public safety power shutoffs for thousands of LA County residents, with tens of thousands more facing potential outages.
The critical weather conditions quickly materialized into real threats on Thursday afternoon, keeping local fire crews busy on multiple fronts:
Peak Fire
The Peak Fire burning in the Azusa area broke out Thursday at 1:15 p.m. in the area of San Gabriel Canyon Road and Mirador Drive and Ranch Road. By late afternoon, the fire was mapped at 43 acres, with 31% containment.…