Dangerous fire weather in this week’s forecast prompted Red Flag Warnings for parts of Southern California, issued by the National Weather Service on Sunday.
The warning, which NWS labeled as a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS), will be in place from Monday night through Wednesday as “a strong, widespread, and long duration Santa Ana event will bring widespread critical to extremely critical fire weather conditions to many areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.”
Los Angeles County Fire officials say the department is beefing up its staff, it is pre-positioning trucks with water tanks in the event that they have to get to a rural area without hydrants, and they’re advising people to take precautions themselves.
For example, officials say it’s a good idea to preemptively clear brush away from your home and get your things ready just in case of an evacuation.
“This event has the potential to be as strong as the November 5-6 Santa Ana event that led to the Mountain Fire,” a NWS release warns. “Prepare for fire weather by ensuring you have defensible space and creating a plan in case of evacuation. Any new fire will grow rapidly, likely exhibiting extreme fire behavior.”