A Santa Ana wind event that raised fears of wildfires for roughly 24 hours came to an earlier-than-expected end Wednesday, with forecasters cancelling red flag warnings as the gusts subsided.
“The winds have weakened faster than expected today (Wednesday) and therefore the red flag warning will be allowed to end early,” the National Weather Service announced shortly after 3 p.m. “Localized northeast gusts of 20 to 30 mph will continue into Thursday over the wind-prone hills, however, with elevated fire weather conditions. Remain extra cautious with anything that can spark a fire.”
Red flag warnings were previously expected to remain in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Santa Clarita Valley, Malibu Coast, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, western San Fernando Valley, the western San Gabriel Mountains and the Golden State (5) and Antelope Valley (14) freeways.
The early lifting of the red flag warnings was welcome news for crews still looking to gain full containment of the Franklin Fire in Malibu. Despite winds of 30 to 50 mph in the region Tuesday night into Wednesday, crews were able to prevent the roughly 4,000-acre blaze from spreading, and even increased its containment to 89%.
Forecasters said the Southland will still have breezy and warm conditions into Thursday, with dramatically decreased winds.
“The weakened offshore flow will allow for an earlier and stronger sea breeze, which will bring several degrees of cooling to the coasts and valleys, and especially the Central Coast,” according to the NWS.
Another 4 to 8 degrees of cooling is expected by Friday and into Saturday, forecasters said.