A red flag warning for the Malibu coast and Santa Monica Mountains will be in effect from 6 a.m. Wednesday until 10 p.m. Friday due to strong Santa Ana winds, low humidity and high temperatures, the National Weather Service announced Tuesday.
NWS forecasts wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, with isolated gusts up to 60 mph in coastal hills and 70 mph in mountain areas. Temperatures could reach the upper 80s and 90s, with humidity dropping to 5% to 15%. The conditions create a high risk of rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior if a wildfire starts, the NWS reported.
Malibu officials urged residents to prepare for potential wildfires, evacuations, power and traffic signal outages, downed trees and power lines, hazardous driving conditions and roadway debris.
Residents were also encouraged to review evacuation routes, prepare emergency supplies, charge electronic devices and secure outdoor objects. Residents should use extreme caution with any activities that could create sparks or ignite a fire.
Residents who may need additional time to evacuate, including seniors, people with disabilities and those with large animals should consider leaving early if a fire threatens their area.
Southern California Edison has notified the city of potential public safety power shutoffs affecting the Cuthbert, Galahad, Maguire and Merlin circuits in central and western Malibu. Residents are urged to check to see if their address will be subject to potential outages and monitor SCE notifications.
The city will issue emergency alerts as needed and post updates at malibucity.org/alerts.
Power outage preparedness information is available at malibucity.org/psps.
Information on outages is available at sce.com/outages-safety/outage-center/check-outage-status.