S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. Today we look at the latest on fire conditions in San Diego and across the region and what you should know. As wildfires continue to devastate parts of Southern California. I'm Jade Hyndman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired and make you think. We want to continue our ongoing coverage of the multiple wildfires happening right now in Los Angeles. So far , the Pacific Palisades Fire is now the most destructive in L.A. history. Not far from there. The Eaton Fire has caused at least five deaths between the multiple blazes. More than 2000 structures have been lost here in San Diego County. Our inland valleys and mountains are under a red flag warning through Friday. And that's because of the Santa Ana winds and low humidity. Meanwhile , Sydney is telling 70,000 customers to be prepared for power shutoffs to prevent fires from downed power lines amidst the high winds. Joining me now is Alex Tardy , warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego County. Alex , welcome back to midday.
S2: Thanks for having me on.
S1: So we're always glad to have you here. Sorry. It's under the circumstances. But tell me about what we can expect in terms of the wind today and through the weekend , actually. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. It's horrible what's going on in the LA area , so we definitely feel for them. But , uh , you know , uh , as we have recovered in other parts of California , we will up there as well. So here in San Diego , we've been lucky so far there hasn't been any significant fires. Um , but unfortunately , more Santa Ana winds are coming down right now as we speak. Um , and they're going to be intensifying tonight , uh , through Friday morning. So what that means for us is it's just going to stay very dry. Uh , we're going to see an increase in wind speeds. And that wind blows from desert to ocean. And with that brings high fire danger. And the reason why it's so high ? Higher than usual. Here we are in January is we are at our driest start to any water year. So we just have not received any rain , and we should be starting to green up by this time of the year.
S1: Do you know what areas will get the worst of the winds ? Yeah.
S2: So with Santa Ana winds as they blow from the desert to the ocean , they can't go through the mountains. So they go up over around in between. So what that means is your interstate corridors like Interstate eight will see the worst of the winds. And when we talk about the worst of the winds , we're talking 60 to 70 mile per hour wind gusts on I-8. And some of our most windiest areas off of Mount Laguna could even approach 80mph. Now , down where most people live in the foothills and the valleys , we're talking more like gusts of 30 to 40mph.
S1: Well , as you mentioned , this rainy season , we've seen very little rain.
S2: That's 0.25. Um , in San Diego we are short , almost four inches of rain. So that's on average , how much rain we should have received by this time in January last year. At this time we were talking about too much rain on January 22nd. This year we're talking about just not enough and almost zero rain. And from LA to San Diego , um , depending on which location you look at , it's top three driest to the start of the year. Wow.
S3: Wow.
S1:
S2: So we're in store for more Santa Ana wind activity. In fact , after this one , we could be seeing Santa Ana winds early next week , Monday through Wednesday. So the foreseeable future is dry. Um , we're hopeful , as there's some indication late this month that it could start turning around. Um , but we have really large deficits right now. So we have now entered into a low end drought situation here in San Diego County.
S1: And so it's really a time for everyone to stay vigilant. It sounds like no one's out of the woods here. No.
S2: No. No one is. Uh , we don't know where there's going to be a spark if there will be. So we want to prevent those. Um , that's not predictable. But what is predictable is the weather and how dry it is. And if we do get a spark , how erratic and extreme behavior where the fires may be impossible to stop in some cases are just difficult overall. So everyone needs to be aware that the vegetation in our area , as we're having these Santa Ana winds , the vegetation thinks it's October. Uh , even though the calendar says it's January , it's that dry.
S1: So with that in mind , I'm sure you've seen these , you know , the heartbreaking images from the fires in Los Angeles and they're still going on. So can you talk about the conditions that led to the devastation there ? Yeah.
S2: It's horrible what's going on there ? It's surreal. You know , seeing the video coverage , all the ingredients came into place. Bad ingredients , you know , not having any rain the entire fall. Early winter , strong Santa Ana winds. Um , for example , in Burbank , they had gusts around 80mph. Very dry air , which means low humidity. You know , like when your lips are dry and the skies are mostly clear. All that came together and they got a spark. And , you know , it wouldn't be any different , really. Any part of the country if you had those conditions and you put a spark. Um , the fire just takes off. It just thrives in those conditions. And then it starts jumping from house to house or tree to tree. And it's impossible at times to to stop it.
S1: And when things like that happen , you have to be ready to go in an instant.
S2: You know , we can predict the weather. We don't know where there's going to be a start with a fire. You have to have a plan when these red flag conditions are mentioned. So the plan has to be where am I going to go ? What am I going to take ? Who am I going to go see what route ? Uh , you can't be thinking about that when you get an evacuation order , because when you do get an order , which means mandatory evacuation , it's grab the keys and go. Uh , so you have to think about those things in advance with your family , in your neighborhood. There's some things you can do around your house for defensible space as well. But when you're in evacuation order , that means time to leave. And it can't be a random movement. You have to know where you're going to.
S1: I've been speaking with Alex Tardy , warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service here in San Diego County. Alex , stay safe. And thanks so much for joining us. Thank you.
