COUNTYWIDE : Santa Anas Keeping Firefighters Nervous

Strong Santa Ana winds helped ignite a house fire in San Clemente on Tuesday, and fire officials are expected to declare a “red-flag alert” today in anticipation that the dry, hot gusts will result in more blazes.

By Tuesday evening, gusts had reached highs of 50 m.p.h. in some Trabuco Canyon peaks, 40 m.p.h. in El Toro and ranging from 20 to 30 m.p.h. through much of the county, according to fire officials and WeatherData Inc.. Highs temperatures today in Orange County are expected to remain in the 70s.

The Santa Anas were expected to pick up overnight and through this morning, losing some of their already-low levels of moisture along the way. In Santa Ana, meteorologists reported humidity of 9%, compared to norms of 30% to 40% as the dry winds swept through the area, swirling dust and dirt and leaving some trees and electrical wiring in their path.

Fire officials will be meeting at 7 a.m. today, probably to issue the first “red-flag alert” since the fire season began in April, said Orange County Fire Department spokesman Dan Young.

That would mean extra fire patrols in the canyons and other dry areas of the county, as well as extra public education announcements to try to avert dangerous situations. If the Santa Ana conditions worsen overnight as expected, Young said, “we’ll be prepared for it.”

Winds to the north and northeast helped to ignite a San Clemente home on Tuesday and skip the blaze along the tops of half a dozen others. Two boys playing with illegal fireworks in a back-yard residence around 3:15 p.m. accidentally set several palm trees on fire, said San Clemente Fire Department spokesman Jack Stubbs. The wind-swept embers then burned one house and ignited shake-shingle roofs at six others on the 200 block of Calle Cortez.

“The winds were blowing the embers all over the place,” Stubbs said.

The wind also blew the water from firefighters’ hoses away from their targets initially, but “we were able to jump on (the fires) before they got out of hand,” said Stubbs. He described damage as minor to moderate.

At John Wayne Airport, the airplanes altered their takeoff routes, flying north instead of south at the outset of their flights to avoid the strong gusts. That caused a few minutes of extra flight time on some flights, but airline officials reported no other problems.

Given the dryness and strength of the winds, Young said the county was “very fortunate” to see only the string of fires in San Clemente.