RED FLAG WARNING: Southern California Coastal Areas

Friday, November 12, 2010

RED FLAG WARNING: Southern California Coastal Areas

[EDIS] Red Flag Warning in effect Saturday for orange county... the Inland Empire... and the Santa Ana mountains and foothills

WHEN: RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM PST SATURDAY FOR STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY ACROSS ORANGE COUNTY... ANOTHER ROUND OF MODERATE SANTA ANA WINDS AREA FORECAST FOR SATURDAY. THOUGH THE WIND SPEEDS AND GUSTS MAY BE SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THURSDAYS WIND EVENT...
WHY: THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND FUEL MOISTURE LEVELS ARE FORECAST TO BE LOW ENOUGH TO INCREASE THE RISK OF EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH.
WHERE: THE INLAND EMPIRE...AND THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING THE TRABUCO RANGER DISTRICT OF THE CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST... THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. A LARGE PORTION OF ORANGE COUNTY...THE INLAND EMPIRE...AND THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS...
WHAT: AREA FORECAST TO EXPERIENCE MORE THAN 6 HOURS OF RELATIVE HUMIDITY BELOW 15 PERCENT AND WINDS GUSTING OVER 5 MPH. IN PARTICULAR...
* WIND: SUSTAINED NORTHEAST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS 35 TO 55 MPH. * HUMIDITY: 5 TO 12 PERCENT.
* TIMING: AFTER 7 AM PST THROUGH 6 PM PST SATURDAY NOVEMBER 13 * OUTLOOK: AFTER 6 PM RELATIVE HUMIDITY INCREASING ABOVE 15 PERCENT WHILE WINDS CONTINUE TO GUST OVER 35 MPH UNTIL 10 PM PST.
* IMPACTS: ANY EXISTING OR NEW FIRE STARTS ARE LIKELY TO GROW EXPLOSIVELY...ESPECIALLY WHERE TERRAIN IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE WIND AND FINE AND DEAD FUELS ARE PRESENT.
Instruction:
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS... LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY... AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

Area: ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS-INCLUDING THE TRABUCO RANGER DISTRICT OF THE CLEVELAND NATIONALFOREST-

Affected Counties or parts of: San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, November 12, 2010