How the weather could impact the Tenaja fire near Murrieta
The same strong gusty winds that fanned the Tenaja fire that broke out near Murrieta on Wednesday are not expected to return on Thursday, forecasters say.
Winds are expected to be much more mellow, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bruno Rodriguez.
At about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, the gusts near the blaze got as strong as 37 mph and stayed steady at about 20 mph, Rodriguez said. Expect much lighter winds typical of onshore flow in the second day of the blaze, he said.
By Thursday morning, the Tenaja fire had scorched 1,400 acres, was 7 percent contained and continued to keep some La Cresta and Murrieta residents from there homes under evacuation orders. Murrieta Valley Unified also closed all schools for the day.
By Thursday afternoon, some wind gusts had returned and pushed the fire to grow to 2,000 acres. Leading to new evacuations in Murrieta.
Winds were just one of the factors contributing to the rapid spread of the blaze, he said, the fast-moving thunderstorms also likely had an impact.
MORE: This map shows where the Tenaja fire is burning near Murrieta
“Yesterday we had quite a few (thunder)storms over the area and some of them drifted over the valleys, which likely affected (the fire’s) spread,” Rodriguez said.
Flash Flood Watch
For the mountains through 7 PM
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) September 5, 2019
“Today they should remain confined to mountain areas only and deserts,” he continued. “We’re not expecting them to go into the valley areas like they did yesterday.”
But even though the winds will be calmer and the storms will be isolated to other areas, it will still be hot.
Murrieta is forecasted to reach temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s and a heat advisory is in place until through 8 p.m. throughout much of Southern California, including the coasts and valleys in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
But the moisture in the air should also be helpful during the firefight, he said. Thursday’s air humidity should be between 30 percent and 50 percent. At night, that number will increase.
Typically the optimal weather for fire dangers is high heat, dry air and strong winds.
“It’s elevated, but not critical,” he said.