Southern California faces another week of extreme fire risk as meteorologists warn of the return of powerful Santa Ana winds. Starting Monday and continuing through Wednesday, wind gusts of 60–80 mph are forecast, with localized maximums reaching up to 100 mph in some areas.
These strong winds are expected to exacerbate ongoing wildfires and create conditions for new fires to spread rapidly.
The Context
The gusty northeast-to-east winds, combined with low humidity levels and dry vegetation, are creating a perfect storm for wildfire risk.
At time of writing, over 40,500 acres have been scorched, and several fires remain active, including the Palisades fire, which is 14 percent contained.
Moreover, Los Angeles is unlikely to see significant rainfall before the end of January. The prolonged dryness, coupled with strong winds, means the risk of erratic fire behavior remains high.
What to Know
Residents across Southern California, particularly in high-risk areas like Santa Clarita Valley, Malibu Coast and the San Gabriel Mountains, are urged to prepare for potential evacuation orders and public safety power shutoffs.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued Red Flag warnings through Wednesday for much of Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
These warnings indicate a high likelihood of "explosive fire growth" and extreme fire behavior.
What People Are Saying
Governor Gavin Newsom said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, late on Sunday: "Here in Mandeville Canyon at the site of tremendous prepositioned resources in anticipation of potentially dangerous winds Monday-Wednesday night. I'm making sure counties all across SoCal—not just those with active wildfires—are prepared to respond in case of emergency."
AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva said in a statement sent to the media: "We could face another round of hurricane-force wind gusts in some places this week. Powerful wind gusts could ground some firefighting aircrafts at times, which makes it more difficult for crews to contain wind-driven fires.
"Embers carried in the wind can quickly spread these fires in suburban areas from house to house. People need to be packed up and ready to evacuate in a matter of moments."
The NWS Los Angeles office also took to X on Sunday: "Heads up! Strong, locally damaging, NE/E winds will affect West LA Co. & much of Ventura Co thru [sic] Wednesday. Critical fire weather is expected, so PLEASE have multiple ways of getting notifications in case of new fires & prepare ahead of time."
What Happens Next
Fire crews will continue their containment efforts under challenging conditions. While the winds this week are expected to be slightly weaker than those experienced last week, they remain strong enough to drive rapid fire spread.
Looking ahead, forecasters are cautiously optimistic about an increased chance of rain in mid-February, which could provide some relief to the parched landscape.
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