Santa Ana winds expected to slowly subside but fire conditions remain amid wayward gusts

Wednesday, January 8, 2025 9:32PM

Winds to slowly subside but fire danger remains amid wayward gusts

Dangerous wind conditions are expected to slowly improve Wednesday, but occasionally powerful gusts remain a threat as firefighters contend with Los Angeles County's massive wildfires.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Dangerous wind conditions are expected to slowly improve Wednesday, but occasionally powerful gusts remain a threat as firefighters contend with Los Angeles County's massive wildfires.

The National Weather Service cautioned that "the slow decrease will not bring the winds down to below warning levels until early evening."

The agency's Los Angeles office has described the current windstorm as "life-threatening and destructive." A red flag warning in effect through Thursday covers a large swath of the region.

In Altadena where the Eaton Fire is burning, the winds will hit between 20-30 mph, but are expected to drop throughout the day.

The Sylmar area that has the Hurst Fire burning can expect a large drop-off in wind strengths across the area by 6 p.m.

The winds should calm down significantly by Thursday.

"Unfortunately, it looks like another Santa Ana is on tap for Friday," the National Weather Service said. "This will be a more typical Santa Ana (wind event), with predominantly northeast winds focused along the typical Santa Ana wind corridor from the Santa Clarita Valley to Point Mugu."

Wednesday weather

After Tuesday's huge surge of cold air from the interior areas, which cooled the entire area of the Eaton and Palisades fires despite an offshore flow, maximum temperatures on Wednesday will warm especially in the inland areas.

Los Angeles and Orange counties can expect a high of 69 degrees with northeast canyons winds gusting up to 45 mph. Fire danger continues through Thursday.

The valleys and Inland Empire will see a high of 69 and will drop to the low 40s overnight. A red flag warning is in effect through Thursday.

Beaches can expect a high around 68 degrees and surf between 3-5 feet. In areas above Malibu, wind gusts will reach 50 mph and even higher in a few other areas.

Mountain areas will see cold snow showers with a high of 39 degrees. Temperatures drop to a chilly 19 degrees overnight.

Strong winds in the deserts could result in blowing dust, creating tough driving conditions. The high on Wednesday will reach 59.

California's wildfire season typically begins in June or July and runs through October, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, but January wildfires are not unprecedented. There was one in 2022 and 10 in 2021, according to CalFire.

The season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, the association said.

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.

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