Fire-ravaged Southern California faces an “extreme fire risk” Tuesday with the return of powerful Santa Ana winds — which may reach up to 75 mph, forecasters warned.
Gusts are expected to pick up again just as firefighters made headway to contain portions of the Eaton and Palisades fires, threatening to strengthen current blazes or spark new wildfires.
“The extreme fire risk continues in Southern California today,” Fox Forecast Center Meteorologist Christopher Tate told The Post.
“We will see conditions gradually improve once we get past today, but strong wind gusts are still possible, and could exacerbate fire conditions and lead to new fires starting.”
While the winds aren’t predicted to reach the 100 mph “hurricane force” gusts that were recorded last week, Tate said there is still a “significant risk” of new fires starting or current fires growing due to dry conditions.
“It’s going to dry out as we head through the day. Any vegetation that hasn’t burned yet is going to be very dry and very flammable,” he warned.
The National Weather Service, issuing its most dire warning yet, noted the weather would be “particularly dangerous” because the high winds could ground firefighting aircraft.
“The enhanced verbiage from the National Weather Service out in Los Angeles is definitely warranted for this,” Tate agreed.
A large share of Southern California around Los Angeles remains under an extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, as fire officials warn residents of Thousand Oaks, Northridge, Simi Valley and other at-risk areas to evacuate before formal orders if they sense danger.
Conditions are likely to improve slightly moving past Tuesday, but it remains to be seen whether an end is in sight, as forecasters predict sunny, dry weather with no rain will persist for the next week and a half.
It will likely take a few days before the weather pattern changes and things “take a turn for the better,” Tate cautioned.
In a week, four major fires in the Los Angeles area have burned through over 62 square miles — about three times the size of Manhattan.
While the Eaton Fire near Pasadena was roughly one-third contained Tuesday morning, the largest blaze in Pacific Palisades was only 14% contained.
At least 24 people have been killed in the blazes, while an additional 200,000 have been displaced.
With Post wires.
