- The Weather Channel - 1 hour agoDangerously dry conditions, rare January red flag warnings, and the Santa Ana winds could be a recipe for disaster in California.
Record Dry Conditions and Santa Ana Winds Fuel Wildfires in California
weather.com and Associated Press Published: Jan 15, 2014, 6:51 AM ESTA dangerous combination of record dry conditions, rare January red flag warnings and the Santa Ana winds could be a recipe for disaster in the fight against California wildfires.Hot, Dry and Dangerous
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Red flag warnings are in effect for the Sierra Nevada and a huge portion of central and southern California as small fires broke out throughout the state. The National Weather Service office in Hanford says it's the first time they've ever issued red flag warnings in the month of January.
"Following the driest year on record, 2014 is kicking off as what may be the driest January on record in many locations in California," said weather.com Senior Meteorologist Jon Erdman.
(MORE: Fire Weather Alerts)
The Santa Ana winds made moisture plunge as Southern California firefighters battled several small blazes. The Santa Anas, generated by strong surface pressure anchored over the West, were predicted to remain at advisory levels until noon Wednesday.
Tuesday's wildfires also struck an unusually arid and windy Northern California, where a fire on the small Kimball Island between San Francisco and Sacramento engulfed at least one of the island's 20 buildings and was threatening others, Solano County fire dispatcher Robyn Rains said.
AP Photo/Coast Guard Station Rio VistaA brush fire on Kimball Island in the San Joaquin River, Sacramento, Calif. burns Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. The fire struck an unusually arid and windy Northern California.
"San Francisco typically picks up just over 11 inches of rain through early June," said Erdman. "However, December, January and February are the three wettest months, so this complete lack of rain during the core of the wet season is worrisome."
The U.S. Coast Guard was helping with evacuations, and Delta Fire Protection District crews had difficulty getting to the blaze because the site is was only accessible by boat.
No one was injured, and all the approximately 15 people who were on the island have been accounted for, officials said.
In Southern California, flames were spread by 25 mph winds across a 2-acre property in Riverside County's Jurupa Valley and destroyed two houses, two mobile homes, three motor homes, 40 vehicles in different states of repair and about a dozen small structures, state fire Capt. Lucas Spelman said. Two more mobile homes were damaged.
(WATCH: Weathering Disaster - A Wildfire Escape)
Alejandro Heredia fled with his 3-year-old child, 15-day-old baby and dog when palm trees began burning in a field behind his home. He said firefighters concentrated on saving his parents' nearby house while his burned.
"We asked for help, and they said that they were doing what they can," Heredia told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "Everything is lost. There's nothing left."
Deputies ran back into one smoke-filled house that had been evacuated to save a litter of shar-pei puppies when they feared that their owner, who was found crying in the evacuation area, was about to head back in herself, sheriff's Sgt. Red Heard said.Play VideoLos Angeles' 60 Second Forecast
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Two deputies came out of the house with the 20-week-old puppies in their arms, but the dogs' parents couldn't be found after the blaze.
"How are they going to survive without their mom?" the 19-year-old owner Carla Guardado told the Press-Enterprise.
By nightfall, 110 firefighters had the fire fully contained.
"The reason why we got an upper hand so quickly is because the wind had actually subsided for about 10 minutes," allowing a breathing space for firefighters, Spelman said.
In Los Angeles, a SuperScooper aircraft dumped tons of water on streams of flame that rolled up a steep cliff side along Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday afternoon. The flames crept within feet of multimillion-dollar cliff-top homes, but none were damaged.
(MORE: What To Do Before a Wildfire)
The fire was knocked down in about 1 1/2 hours, but the highway remained closed for several hours more until one lane opened in each direction.
Earlier, more than 100 firefighters and two helicopters responded when a large house caught fire in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley and strong gusts threatened to spit embers into a neighborhood downwind.
The dryness isn't isolated to California. Las Vegas is in the midst of its third longest dry streak on record for the months of December and January.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Photos of the California Wildfires
Santa Monica, Calif.
A firefighting aircraft dumps water on a brush fire alongside the Pacific Coast Highway January 14, 2014 in Santa Monica, California. More than 160 firefighters battled the 10-acre blaze, which snarled rush hour traffic. (Photo David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)end quote from: -
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Record Dry Conditions and Santa Ana Winds Fuel Wildfires in California
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