The City of Malibu and surrounding areas were under increased fire danger on the first two days of 2019 thanks to a combination of low humidity and high wind.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department on Monday issued a Fire Weather Watch for Malibu from 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019 through 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, “due to strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity forecast for LA County mountains, including Malibu,” according to an alert issued by the City of Malibu.
Areas with “substantial fire risk” include “all areas east of Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon Rd extending to the 405 Freeway,” according to the city.
“This Santa Ana wind event has the potential to down trees and power lines, especially in the mountains and adjacent foothills, and may cause power outages,” the National Weather Service described in a statement. “Driving conditions will be difficult across some of the roadways in wind prone areas of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The gusty Santa Ana winds, combined with lowering humidities, will also bring elevated to brief critical fire weather conditions to Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Any fire ignitions in windy areas will have the potential for rapid fire spread.”
Wind gusts were expected to reach 50-65 miles per hour.