HEAT WAVE: Santa Ana winds hit the...

HEAT WAVE: Santa Ana winds hit the county again, bringing with them the usual fears of fire (B1). . . . Although the winds can occur any time, they usually show up in October through January, said meteorologist Michael Most of the National Weather Service. . . . The hot Santa Anas (there are also cool and warm Santa Anas) hit the county an average of six or seven times a year, Most said.

BY ANY OTHER NAME: The blistering winds, which emanate in the Great Basin and build up heat as they move to lower altitudes, were named after the Santa Ana mountains and canyons where they were first noticed, Most said, adding that some people call them Santanas. . . . And they exist all over the world, although under different names. In Colorado, they’re Chinooks.

TOP GUNS: When Ventura County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dante Honorico showed up to collect a leadership award recently from the National Assn. of Asian Peace Officers, he found himself onstage with a star of the moment--Judge Lance A. Ito. . . . Honorico, a 19-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department who runs the Todd Road jail and Ojai honor farm, said he welcomes the chance to carry his message to Asians interested in police work. . . . Despite the fact that Ito was surrounded by heavy security at the Los Angeles award ceremony, Honorico’s daughters managed to have their photos taken with the O. J. jurist. “He was gracious about it,” Honorico said.

CHEERS: Speaking of celebs, among those expected to be in attendance Saturday at the Martha’s Vineyard wedding of actors Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson is President Clinton (E1). . . . The President, who has been friends with Ojai resident Steenburgen for years, had cut back on his schmoozing with Hollywood types in a bid to regain his appeal with the average American. But he’s back in the glitterati circles. . . . No comment from their publicists on whether Steenburgen and Danson will be living in Ojai or Los Angeles.