'Life threatening' windstorm to increase fire danger in Southern California: NWS
Parts of Southern California that were impacted by severe wildfires last month will be again threatened with critical fire danger in the coming days.
The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning and red flag warning from Los Angeles down to the Mexican border from Tuesday through Wednesday morning.
During that time, strong Santa Ana winds could gust 40 mph to 60 mph -- even reaching up to 80 mph locally in some spots, forecasts show.
On Monday evening, California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state departments to position fire engines, handcrews, aircraft and additional support in areas that could be impacted.
"The state is taking early, proactive steps to coordinate with local partners to protect communities as dangerous weather enters our state. We are no strangers to winter-time wildfire threats, so I ask all Californians to pay attention to local authorities and be prepared to evacuate if told to go," Newsom said in a statement.
A "life threatening" and "destructive" windstorm is expected from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning across much of the Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, according to the NWS. Areas that are not typically windy will also be impacted, the agency said.
Dry conditions are also expected to exacerbate fire threats, as humidity can be as low as 10% over the coming days. The low humidity will produce very high fire danger for Southern California and the Los Angeles area.
Some of the regions under elevated fire risk this week, such as Malibu, were impacted by a raging wildfire last month that spread to more than 4,000 acres and forced 20,000 residents into evacuation.
In addition, drought conditions have returned to much of Southern California, according to an update from the U.S. Drought Monitor that was released last week.
Moderate drought now is currently in place from Los Angeles to San Diego, leaving very dry vegetation that can potentially fuel a spark and create a wildfire.
ABC News' Melissa Griffin, Max Golembo and Dan Peck contributed to this report.
