Dangerous fire weather is expected across much of California on Friday, with temperatures expected to continue to rise across the state in the coming days, marking the first heat wave of August.
Much of Southern California and parts of the Central Valley and Bay Area will face the threat of thunderstorms and dry lightning through Saturday, with forecasters warning that instability could spark a dangerous mix of wildfires, including new ones and those still burning. Burning wildfire.
A red flag warning, a severe fire weather warning, was issued Friday for the mountains and deserts of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern counties, as well as parts of the Sierra Nevada, with the potential for erratic winds and dry lightning .
“Extremely dry fuels will be susceptible to any lightning-based ignition, and dry/gusty thunderstorm outflows could cause wildfires to spread,” the National Weather Service in Hanford warned. The Borel Fire in Kern County had grown to nearly 60,000 acres as of Friday morning acres, a red flag warning is in effect. Its content is 47%.
“At least a few new wildfires are likely to break out in the next 72 hours due to lightning in California,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote in a blog post Thursday. Southern California, Northern California or both.
The red flag warning is an ominous sign as experts say this year’s fire month is likely to be more active than last month, with the National Interagency Fire Center forecasting an above-average chance of severe wildfires across much of northern and central California. August. A wider swath of the state falls into the above-average range compared to July’s forecast – although Cal Fire officials have said conditions will be particularly explosive early in the summer. On Friday, the Park Fire in Butte and Tehama counties became the fourth-largest fire ever recorded in the state, covering more than 397,000 acres.
National Interagency Fire Center August Outlook: “Large areas of the West are expected to experience above-normal significant fire potential in August and September compared to the outlook issued a month ago.”
High temperatures will also continue to drive fire spread and hamper firefighting efforts. Weather officials warned of another “long-term heat wave,” particularly in inland Southern California, where temperatures could reach 110 degrees by Monday.
“Temperatures are slowly warming each day, potentially leading to dangerous and significant heat risks across the interior through Sunday or Monday and continuing,” the National Weather Service office in Oxnard wrote in Friday’s forecast discussion. Through most of next week, a heat advisory has been issued for inland southwestern California starting Sunday, warning of “dangerously hot weather” and the potential for heat stroke. High temperatures are expected to peak across the South from Monday to Wednesday.
Temperatures are also expected to climb across the state; the situation is currently expected to be less severe but will persist for a long time, and officials continue to warn of possible health impacts.
“Another heat wave is happening, and it’s likely to be long-lasting… and have double peaks,” Swain said. “There’s some good news, though: Right now, there’s no sign that this heat wave will be anything like July’s. The heat wave is too intense or lasts too long.”
Long-term climate forecasts also show that temperatures in California are expected to be only slightly above average in August, a forecast that is not as extreme as forecasts for July.
