Fires in and around Los Angeles and San Diego continue to burn out of control as fire weather continues into another day. Evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people in southern California continue as fires spread through extremely dry forest and scrub that is adjacent to residential communities.
A very strong 1030-1036 mb surface high pressure system over parts of the Great Basin is promoting a moderate offshore pressure gradient along the southern CA coast, setting the stage for continued fire weather conditions. Areas of 15-25 mph winds are expected to persist through the early morning hours and into the afternoon before diminishing through late afternoon/evening as the surface high weakens amid surface pressure falls related to the approaching upper wave. While the strongest winds may be temporally offset from peak diurnal heating, a prolonged period of offshore/downslope winds has resulted in very low relative humidity levels below 15% along the coast, which will support fire weather concerns through the morning and early afternoon.
Many fires continue to burn within this elevated fire weather risk zone, including the Border 2 fire which continues to rage near the U.S. / Mexico border in San Diego County. This new blaze erupted in the Otay Mountain wilderness in San Diego County on Thursday afternoon and has charred more than 800 acres; it remains uncontained. The Hughes fire, which exploded near Castaic Lake on Wednesday, has spread across 10,396 acres and is at 36% containment. The Laguna Fire, which started in Ventura county on Thursday, is now 70% contained after burning through 94 acres. The Sepulveda Fire, which erupted by the 405 in Bel-Air on Wednesday night, spread to 45 acres and is 60% contained. Firefighters continue to make strides on the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires that have been burning in Los Angeles for more than two weeks now…