Joan Didion described their violence and unpredictability as a reminder of “how close to the edge we are,” and Raymond Chandler remarked about how they “make your nerves jump and your skin itch.” That’s right, the Santa Ana winds are back and ready to unsettle Angelenos—who must just be elated by their timing.
A mixture of very low humidity and strong and sustained winds will bring “extremely critical fire weather” to much of Los Angeles on Wednesday and Thursday and possibly into Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Though the L.A. Basin will stay relatively sheltered, coastal and valley regions could see wind gusts up to 70mph; that number jumps to 80mph in L.A. County’s foothills, and as high as 100mph in the San Gabriel Mountains.
As of Wednesday morning, two fires have already broken out in Moorpark and Malibu.
Angelenos aren’t strangers to red flag warnings, which are issued when weather conditions are predicted to bring an increased risk of fire danger. But this week’s bulletin comes with the added label of “Particularly Dangerous Situation,” or PDS. As the name implies, a PDS is an especially perilous, imminent threat that brings a high risk of downed trees, power outages and rapidly growing fires, according to the NWS—a federal agency which may face an uncertain future.
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) November 5, 2024
The timing and intensity of the warning varies by region, but the short version is that the NWS has issued a PDS red flag warning from 9am on Wednesday until 9am on Thursday in mountain areas, and until 4pm on Wednesday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley and beaches as far south as Malibu; a standard-strength red flag warning will be in place until Friday at 11am and Thursday at 6pm in both of those areas, respectively. In the San Gabriel Valley foothills, the western edge of the San Fernando Valley and both coastal and inland areas of the L.A. Basin, the red flag warning will remain in effect until 6pm on Thursday.
In light of the warning, the NWS suggests using extreme caution with anything that could spark a wildfire, and it also urges residents near “wildland interfaces” (that’s basically any community that borders a brush-filled hillside) to be prepared to evacuate if a wildfire breaks out.