The Santa Ana winds that blew through Southern California Monday morning were expected to die down by the evening, officials said.
The strong wind event returned to the region after a brief reprieve over the weekend, fueling yet another destructive blaze, called the Getty Fire, near thousands of homes in Los Angeles County.
The winds were blowing the flames westward after igniting around 1:30 a.m. Monday on the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass, according to the L.A. Fire Department.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a dust advisory, saying powerful gusts up to 35 to 65 mph were recorded in the area.
“Winds are picking up and this remains a very active and dynamic situation…” the Fire Department said just after 10 a.m.
Winds will gradually die down through the afternoon and will be light by the evening, the agency said.
While conditions will be cooler than last week’s 90-degree weather, the region will continue to have very dry air with humidities dropping to 5 to 10%, the weather service said.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning effective through 6 p.m. Monday for much of L.A. and Ventura counties.
A stronger Santa Ana wind event is expected Wednesday and Thursday, when gusts could peak at 70 mph and humidities could drop as low as 3%.
Southern California has seen multiple wildfires in recent weeks amid strong winds and dry conditions. The Getty Fire exploded in the Brentwood area just as crews worked on increasing their containment lines on the Tick Fire in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Why Santa Ana winds later this week may be the strongest of the season thus far https://t.co/mjdiWiPnVA
— L.A. Times: L.A. Now (@LANow) October 29, 2019
#GettyFire Winds are picking up and this remains a very active and dynamic situation so please follow local media and visit https://t.co/766U4tVd9z for the latest info #LAFD pic.twitter.com/klZEdJHbsA
— LAFD Talk (@LAFDtalk) October 28, 2019
Here is a loop following the evolution of the heat emitted from the #GettyFire this morning as captured by the GOES-16 satellite. The fire continues to grow as the #SantaAnaWinds gust 40-50 mph through the morning. #SoCal #CAwx #LAfire pic.twitter.com/CLrhlvKNOr
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) October 28, 2019