Low humidity, high winds boost fire risk in Southern California

LANCASTER — An elevated risk of fire will prevail Wednesday in the Antelope Valley and its San Gabriel Mountains foothills for a second consecutive day because of high temperatures, dry conditions and high winds, forecasters said.

Highs in the Antelope Valley again could reach 104 degrees Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service, which said these conditions would last through Friday.

To minimize the risk of sparking a fire, the weather service urged residents to refrain from burning brush or trash outdoors, parking vehicles on grass, or leave a hot grill unattended. The NWS also urged residents to wet the ground before conducting work and warn kids not to play with fire.

NWS meteorologist Todd Hall said humidity levels in the Antelope Valley would be 10% to 18% — a little more humid than Tuesday’s 8% to 15%. NWS meteorologist Andrew Rorke added that the wind would blow about 20 miles per hour, gusting to 35 to 40 mph, although gusts at Lake Palmdale could reach 45 mph.

The Antelope Valley will be 7 to 8 degrees above normal but temperatures will be much closer to normal in the rest of the county and a degree below normal near coastal areas.

The NWS forecast partly cloudy skies in LA County and highs of 71 in Avalon and San Pedro; 72 at LAX; 73 in Hawthorne; 74 in Torrance; 77 in Long Beach; 78 in downtown LA; 79 on Mount Wilson; 82 in Studio City and Agoura Hills; 83 in North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Whittier, San Gabriel and Burbank; 84 in Van Nuys, Pacoima and Pasadena; 85 in Panorama City, Covina and West Covina; 86 in Sylmar, North Hills and Glendale; 87 in Encino, Tarzana, Northridge, Granada Hills, Chatsworth, Winnetka and Calabasas; and 88 in Santa Clarita, Canoga Park and Woodland Hills. Roughly the same temperatures will persist at least through Tuesday, though the hottest communities will experience a slight cooldown beginning Sunday.

The NWS forecast partly cloudy skies in Orange County Wednesday and highs of 70 degrees in Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach; 71 in San Clemente; 72 in Newport Beach; 75 on Santiago Peak; 75 on Santiago Peak; 77 in Laguna Niguel; 78 in Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Fremont Canyon and on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 80 in Anaheim, Fullerton, Irvine and Mission Viejo; and 82 at Trabuco Canyon and in Yorba Linda. A slight cooling trend will begin Sunday.