Lake Forest hottest spot in U.S. as January heat wave breaks records, broils Southern California
Monday brought a second day of record-setting temperatures across Southern California as a January heat wave made winter feel a lot more like summer.
Numerous spots around the region hit new highs for the day, including Long Beach (91), LAX (89) UCLA (89), Santa Ana (88), Newport Beach (85), and Vista (90). Lake Forest was the hottest spot in the U.S. at 93 degrees.
More record heat is expected Tuesday.
Powerful winds continued Monday, including gusts that topped 50 mph in some canyon and peak areas.
The conditions sparked a small brush fire in Malibu.
As of late Monday morning, dozens of firefighters were spread out along a charred Malibu hillside, spraying water and mopping up hot spots. Others were clearing brush near a house that stood atop the hill.
At one point, the flames reached the backyard of a home, but a team of firefighters put them out and prevented any damage to the property, said Inspector Gustavo Medina with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Less than three acres burned.
Red-flag fire warnings remain in effect until 3 p.m.
On Sunday, a high temperature of 90 degrees was recorded in Long Beach, breaking the previous record of 88 set in 1976. In Burbank, the temperature reached 86, breaking the old record of 85, also set in 1976.
“It’s very dry — far below normal for this time of year, but it’s also kind of typical with a Santa Ana winds condition,” said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
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