Santa Ana winds are expected Sunday evening and could stick around until Monday morning.
They won’t be particularly strong, said National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall, but there will likely be gusts ranging from 40 to 50 mph. The strongest winds are likely to hit western Los Angeles and eastern Ventura counties, affecting the areas of Malibu, Thousands Oaks, Porter Ranch and Santa Clarita.
Recent rains have left soil and new vegetation wet, diminishing the threat of wildfire stoked by wind. And the speeds won’t be nearly as severe as January’s winds, which reached 100 mph in some places, feeding two major fires on opposite sides of the county. Those destroyed and damaged thousands of homes in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, leaving entire communities displaced for nearly a year.
But Hall cautioned that the windy weather can always bring down power lines or tree branches, which can spark a fire.
“The threat is minimized with the Santa Anas we’re expecting. But we can’t totally rule that out,” Hall said about wildfire risk.
The weather service is also monitoring for potential rain starting Wednesday afternoon across most of Southern California.
“We don’t have a good handle on it at this point, but we’re going to continue watching,” Hall said.
