A small amount of rain is forecast for Southern California, offering a temporary respite from the extreme fire danger caused by strong winds and a prolonged dry spell. However, the region remains vulnerable to wildfires, with low humidity and high winds persisting. Officials are taking steps to mitigate risks, including installing barriers and diverting runoff to prevent mudflows and landslides in burn scar areas.
After a day of strong winds that fueled small, scattered fires across Southern California , a reprieve from extreme fire danger may be in sight. A small amount of rain is in the forecast beginning late Friday through early Saturday, a much-anticipated change of weather for the region, which has suffered through a prolonged dry spell that has fueled deadly and destructive fires. Nevertheless, Southern California is not out of the woods yet when it comes to fire risk.
On Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service extended its red flag warning — which had been scheduled to expire at 10 p.m. — until 8 p.m. Thursday due to an anticipated boost in wind coupled with persistent low humidity. In Los Angeles County, where the Palisades and Eaton fires have carved a devastating path this month, less than a third of an inch of rain is expected. Rain totals could, however, be slightly higher in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and other places, said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. 'Obviously it's going to be very welcome to get some sort of moisture here,' Lewis said. 'In terms of ending the fire season, it's probably not going to be enough for that. But it'll certainly help a little bit.' Although a smattering of rain would be beneficial for dry conditions, too much could trigger mudflows and landslides within burn scars. 'I normally pray for rain. God knows we generally need it,' said Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades. 'The burn scar of the Palisades fire not only sits feet from the ocean itself, but on hillsides that are already prone to slide and which have already absorbed a tremendous amount of water from firefighting, broken pipes and melted pools.' 'Adding water to this mess ... is the last thing we need,' Park said. On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to shore up burn areas and stem the flow of toxic debris in preparation for the incoming rain. The city's Public Works Department in the coming days will install barriers, remove debris and divert runoff from the stormwater system into the sewer system, where it can be treated. 'This is to prevent additional damage to areas already ravaged by fire and also to protect our watershed, beaches and ocean from toxic runoff,' Bass said during a news conference Tuesday. Because the low pressure system moving to Southern California is bringing with it a mass of cold air, it can create instability and a possibility of thunderstorms. But Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the weather service, said the likelihood was low. 'I mean, it would have to be just, like, the worst of luck,' Wofford said. 'First of all, we'd have to get some convection and it would have to form just in the right area.' The rain would also have to fall at a rate much faster than expected for a landslide to occur. When intense rain falls quickly, the soil absorbs water rapidly and eventually reaches a saturation point where it can no longer hold moisture, triggering instability. 'If a quarter-inch fell in 30 seconds, then yes,' Wofford said of the potential for landslides. 'But if it falls over hours then it's definitely not an issue.' As the region prepares for rain, the National Weather Service's warning of a 'particularly dangerous situation' with extreme wind gusts ended Tuesday morning for swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The notice marked the fifth time the weather service had sounded the alarm this season for acute fire conditions. A red flag warning remains in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday, with winds expected to pick back up Wednesday afternoon, peak Thursday morning and ease by Thursday night, according to the weather service. A gust of 88 mph was recorded Monday morning in the western San Gabriel Mountains at Magic Mountain Truck Trail. Wind gusts hit 70 mph in the Santa Susana Mountains on Monday afternoon, Lewis said. Dry conditions will persist with humidity levels below 10% until the rain over the weekend, according to the weather service. Humidity levels in the Eaton fire area were 3% Tuesday morning, said James White, a meteorologist working the fire. 'It's almost impossible to be drier than that,' he said. A fire weather watch will remain in effect from Tuesday evening through Thursday evening with forecasters warning of Santa Ana winds and very low relative humidity for large parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Relative humidity levels are expected to remain low — between 5% to 10% — across most of the area in the coming days, White said. Thousands of people across Southern California were without power on Tuesday as Southern California Edison instituted public safety power shutoffs, which aim to mitigate threats in areas where the utility’s equipment could be at a high risk of sparking a wildfire
Southern California Rain Fire Danger Wildfires Santa Ana Winds Red Flag Warning Mudflows Landslides Fire Weather Watch Public Safety Power Shutoffs
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