Because of concerns about fire danger due to the massive Blue Cut Fire in San Bernardino County, Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road were closed Thursday to motor vehicles.
However, bicyclists and pedestrians are being allowed on the roadways, according to the LA Sheriff’s Department.
“The roads will be reopened when fire danger has decreased,” sheriff’s officials said. “Please remain vigilant of local conditions when recreating in the National Forest.”
Additionally, with gusty winds persisting in the forecast, along with continued low humidity, the National Weather Service extended a red flag warning of heightened wildfire danger for another day in the Los Angeles County mountains and Antelope Valley.
The red flag warning took effect Monday and had been scheduled to expire Monday night but it will now remain in effect until 9 p.m. Friday.
“Widespread minimum humidities under 10 percent over interior areas and poor overnight humidity recoveries will continue through tonight,” according to the NWS. “There will be slow improvement Friday and Saturday, but most humidities will remain under 15 percent and fuel moistures will take time to recover.
“Meanwhile, gusty onshore flow will form over interior sections each day through Friday or Saturday, with gusts between 25 or 40 mph. This will result in critical fire weather conditions through Friday over mountains and desert foothills of Los Angeles and Ventura counties where a red flag warning remains in effect.”
The red flag warning affects Los Angeles and Ventura county mountains, the Los Padres and Angeles national forests, and the Antelope Valley.
In the mountains, forecasters predict southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph, with gusts of 30 to 40 mph, primarily in the afternoon and evening. The strongest winds are expected in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Winds the Antelope Valley are expected to range from 15 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph possible in the foothills later in the day. The winds in the area should die down overnight.
“If fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior and rapid spread of wildfire which would threaten life and property,” according to the NWS.
Although the heat wave that baked parts of the region earlier in the week is breaking, forecasters said inland areas will likely still have temperatures slightly above normal for the next few days.
Downtown Los Angeles is forecast to hit 84 degrees Thursday and Friday, and vary by only a degree or two into early next week. Beach areas should be in the mid- to upper-70s. Pasadena is forecast to reach 95 degrees and Woodland Hills 99 degrees today and Friday, but both will drop by about five degrees by the weekend, according to the Weather Service. Lancaster and Palmdale will hover near triple-digits through the weekend.
For additional information on the road closures, visit http://dpw.lacounty.gov/roadclosures/ .
—City News Service