Temperatures near 100 expected Thursday; fire warnings extended
The National Weather Service extended its red flag fire warnings through Thursday morning and predicted that temperatures could near 100 degrees in downtown Los Angeles and other areas as high pressure continues to grip the region.
The Santa Ana winds that buffeted the region and fanned a 1,000 acre wildfire burning out of control in the San Bernardino National Forest had subsided Wednesday night, but were expected to intensify early Thursday, the Weather Service said.
Gusts from 60 mph to 70 mph were expected in mountain areas of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Record highs for Wednesday were set from the Central Coast to Southern California, including an 89-degree reading at Los Angeles International Airport. That broke a record of 86 degrees set in 1996.
The high winds knocked out power lines that affected thousands of people in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties, utility officials said.
The heavy winds whipped the Etiwanda fire in the San Bernardino National Forest near Rancho Cucamonga. More than 700 firefighters were battling the blaze Wednesday night.
The cause was under investigation.
robert.lopez@latimes.com
Twitter: @LAJourno
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