FIRE WEATHER WATCH LOS ANGELES & VENTURA COUNTIES

Friday, October 28, 2011

FIRE WEATHER WATCH LOS ANGELES & VENTURA COUNTIES

FIRE WEATHER WATCH

FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF LOS ANGELES AND VENTURA COUNTIES FOR GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...

SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE GREAT BASIN WITH A RIDGE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING WIDESPREAD VERY DRY CONDITIONS AND AREAS OF GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS THROUGH AT LEAST THIS AFTERNOON.

HUMIDITIES OVER THE MOUNTAINS WILL REMAIN BELOW 15 PERCENT TODAY... WITH MANY AREAS UNDER 10 PERCENT. GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS WILL PEAK JUST BEFORE NOON TODAY...THEN SLOWLY WEAKEN AFTER EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THE VERY DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH POOR OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES IN THE MOUNTAINS. ALTHOUGH WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO WEAKEN SOME TONIGHT...THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE MOUNTAINS MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED THROUGH SATURDAY IF THE WINDS REMAIN STRONG ENOUGH...AND A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED TO ADDRESS THAT POSSIBILITY.

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF LOS ANGELES AND VENTURA COUNTIES FOR GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY... ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF LOS ANGELES AND VENTURA COUNTIES FOR GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES/OXNARD HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY... WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PDT THIS EVENING. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED. THIS FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

WINDS: AREAS OF NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MOST OF THIS AFTERNOON THEN WEAKEN SOME THROUGH THIS EVENING. ISOLATED GUSTS OVER 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE FAVORED CANYONS AND HILLS. AREAS OF NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH ARE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY.

RELATIVE HUMIDITY: WIDESPREAD READINGS BELOW 10 PERCENT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH VERY POOR OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES UNDER 20 PERCENT.

IMPACTS: IF FIRE IGNITION OCCURS... THERE COULD BE RAPID SPREAD OF WILDFIRE THAT WOULD LEAD TO A THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS

Instruction:
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS AND VERY LOW HUMIDITY...AS WELL AS DRY FUEL CONDITIONS... IS EXPECTED TO CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR 6 HOURS OR MORE...WHICH COULD RESULT IN EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH MEANS THAT THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. LISTEN FOR LATER FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE RED FLAG WARNINGS.

Area: VENTURA COUNTY MOUNTAINS / LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST-LOS ANGELES COUNTY MOUNTAINS / ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST

Affected Counties or parts of: Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles

California Fire News 2011

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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, October 28, 2011