Santa Ana winds batter Southern California; fire danger high

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A fallen tree branch just misses a car on Olsen Road in Thousand Oaks. Strong winds, low humidity, high temperatures and very dry brush have combined to make for high fire danger. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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Farmworkers and farm equipment are shrouded in dust stirred up by winds gusting to 50 mph across a field of red peppers along Highway 126 near Newhall. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Luis Carlos, 14, front, and other students gird against wind gusts and blowing sand as they make their way to Etiwanda High School in Fontana. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Schoolchildren face wind gusts on Friday morning in Fontana. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Miguel Hernandez and Humberto Munoz of Azteca Landscape clean up wind-blown pine needles on Erbes Road in Thousand Oaks. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

By a Times Staff Writer

Oct. 4, 2013 5:26 PM PT

Wind gust topping 50 mph were reported in some parts of Southern California on Friday as Santa Ana winds battered the region.

The strong winds and dry conditions have officials worried about wildfires this weekend.

Red flag warnings are in affect this weekend. And the National Weather Service issued wind warnings through Saturday evening.

Just .09 inches of rain has fallen in the last three months, said JPL climatologist Bill Patzert.

“I can’t exaggerate how crispy it is out there,” he said. “It’s really just super dry.”

This year has been the sixth-driest year in 135 recorded years, Patzert said.

A healthy rainfall can help mitigate the effects of a Santa Ana wind, wetting vegetation and reducing the likelihood of fires. But total precipitation for the first nine months of this year has amounted to just 23% of the area’s typical rainfall, Patzert said.

Across the state, firefighters have battled an unusually high number of fires.

Already this year, more than 5,600 fires have burned more than 146,000 acres. The five-year average is 4,000 wildfires by this time of year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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