Autumn is on pause as summer-like heat wave stirs fire fears in California

- Share via
Good morning. Hereâs what you need to know to start your day.
- Triple-digit temperatures will hit California again during a fall heat wave.
- A VP debate that matters? Vance, Walz try to win over those few undecided voters.
- 13 romantic restaurants where you can impress a date for under $100.
- And hereâs todayâs e-newspaper
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Autumn is on pause as summer-like heat wave stirs new fire fears in California
Over 1 million acres have burned in California this year, and as an abnormally warm summer-like heat wave pushes temperatures up throughout the state this week, the risk of increased burning remains high.
Heat advisories have been issued across the state, many warning of triple-digit temperatures that have already led to power shutoffs in the north and additional wildfire evacuations in the south.
Though fire season in California typically extends through the fall months, the weather service expects highs in most areas throughout the state to reach 10 to 20 degrees above average for this time of year.
This unusual heat wave will dry out landscapes and drop humidity levels, which officials say can spur easier and faster wildfire growth. Gusty offshore winds breezing through the California coast is an added concern, the weather service said.

My colleagues at the Times reported on the soaring October temperatures. Hereâs what you need to know.
Will the heat wave affect you?
Temperatures in Southern California are expected to be about 10 degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service. Today will be the hottest day of the week in parts of Los Angeles County, Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the weather service in Oxnard, told the Times.
Across Southern California, the weather service is warning of âdangerously hot conditionsâ through Thursday. Some expected high temperatures this week include:
- Up to 107 degrees in the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley, the Antelope Valley foothills and the 5 Freeway corridor
- Up to or over 100 degrees in much of the Central Valley
- Up to 115 degrees in Death Valley
- Over 104 degrees in parts of the Bay Area

For the western San Gabriel Mountains â where the Bridge fire erupted last month â and the 14 Freeway corridor specifically, the weather service announced a red flag warning through Thursday, saying that âhot and unstable conditionsâ could rapidly advance fire spread. An additional fire watch was issued for the interior mountains of San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County for today and tomorrow.
Up north in Shasta County, about 1,100 customers â 9,000 on Monday and 200 on Tuesday â experienced a planned Pacific Gas & Electric shutoff, Paul Doherty, a spokesperson for PG&E said. The company had warned earlier that it would cut power to residents facing dangerous fire weather, especially âhigh winds and dry conditions,â to minimize the risk of fires erupting.
Wildfire risk continues
The Line, Bridge and Airport fires that burned a total of 122,500 acres in Southern California are respectively 76%, 98% and 95% contained. However, on Sunday, with excessive heat in the area, authorities issued additional evacuations and warnings because of flare-ups on the Line fire in San Bernardino.
The flare-up intensified Monday, expanding evacuation orders and causing firefighters to lose some ground on containment.

The high-risk weather this week could create conditions that spark âplume-dominated fires,â identified by tall plumes of smoke that become dangerously hot, which could potentially cause fires to grow erratically, Bryan Lewis, a weather service meteorologist in Oxnard, told The Times.
Throughout California, the weather serviceâs Climate Prediction Center expects temperatures to remain above-average until at least mid-October, stretching across the Southwest as forecast in parts of Arizona and Nevada are already hitting record-high daily temperatures.
But beyond fire hazards, meteorologists and experts are warning of health risks caused by excessive heat. So, drink plenty of fluids, stay indoors in an air-conditioned room if you can, otherwise stay in the shade and follow safety measures to stay cool during high temperatures.
Read more
- How to stay safe and cool during heat waves
- How to keep cool when the power has been shut off
- How much worse will extreme heat get by 2050? New report outlines worrisome future
- Why poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat
- The L.A. Times investigation into extreme heatâs deadly toll
Todayâs top stories

Vance and Walz kept it polite â with a few jabs â in VP debate
- Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz engaged in a remarkably civil vice presidential debate Tuesday night, with both sides claiming they represent the change Americans are seeking.
- Didnât watch the debate? You can find five big takeaways here.
- Hereâs a look at how Vance and Walz differed from their running mates on immigration.
- And Times columnists discussed the best and worst moments of the debate as they happened.
- In other election news, CBS News said Trump dropped out of a â60 Minutesâ interview after accepting an invitation.
Sean âDiddyâ Combs faces sexual abuse and exploitation allegations from 120 people, including minors
- More than 100 people, including some who were minors at the time of the alleged abuse, are planning to file lawsuits against Combs in New York and California, according to an attorney.
- The impending lawsuits come after federal prosecutors last month charged the hip-hop music mogul with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
- Combs has pleaded not guilty and has been in federal custody since his arrest on Sept. 16.
California sued a hospital that denied a woman an emergency abortion last year
- Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka is accused of violating multiple state laws by denying a woman an abortion after she experienced a dangerous complication.
- The case exposes gaps in abortion care in California, home to the nationâs strongest reproductive rights protections, where abortion access is enshrined in the state Constitution.
Ranking Californiaâs best and worst cities for retiring
- The Times ranked 367 California cities on livability, affordability, climate and more to determine which were the best and worst for retirement.
- The best? Eureka, a major city on the stateâs north coast with a population of about 30,000.
What else is going on
- Depression was rising among young people in Southern California. COVID made it worse.
- The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have prepared for increased cargo volume in anticipation of a dock worker strike on the East Coast.
- A mosquito-borne virus is spreading at âunprecedentedâ levels in L.A. County.
- Claudia Sheinbaum took office as Mexicoâs first female president â seven decades after women won the right to vote.
- As much as Shohei Ohtani has surpassed expectations on the field this season, his acclimation behind the scenes has been equally noteworthy to people around the Dodgers.
- A Long Beach man who bragged about crime on Instagram pleaded guilty to a $2.6-million jewelry heist.
Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.
Commentary and opinions
- The DMV dumped license renewal tests for most drivers 70 and older â ending a âlong statewide nightmare,â columnist Steve Lopez writes.
- A âNever Trumpâ conservative explains why he wonât vote for a third-party candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
- An artist leans on queer family history as the nation tries to keep up with this yearâs election shifts.
- When depression and an eating disorder locked her in a downward spiral, writer Molly Wadzeck Kraus says it took months of the Barefoot Contessa to change her relationship with food.
This morningâs must reads

Lebanese people voice anger and sorrow over the widening conflict with Israel. As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah exploded further Tuesday, Lebanese people scrambled to stay out of the violence. In recent days, more than 1,000 have been killed nationwide and nearly 1 million displaced.
Other must reads
- Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for attacks on the Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
- Even before the Israeli ground invasion, Hezbollah was struggling to regroup.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime

Going out
- đ„ Planning a romantic date? Here are 13 restaurants in L.A. where couples can dine under $100 (before tax and tip).
- đïž This yearâs AFI Fest will host the world premiere of Robert Zemeckisâ âHere,â which reunites him with âForrest Gumpâ stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.
- 𧩠Beyond Fest will feature a 20th anniversary screening of the first âSawâ movie with actor Tobin Bell, aka Jigsaw.
Staying in
- đ» CNN puts a paywall on its website as TV revenues diminish.
- đș The creator of âNobody Wants Thisâ responded to criticism about how Jewish women are depicted in the Netflix series.
- đž Princess Zelda is the yearâs most butt-kicking childless cat lady, our critic writes.
- đ„ Hereâs a recipe for barley porridge with mushrooms, herbs and poached egg.
- âïž Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
And finally ... a great photo
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special â natural or human-made â and tell us why theyâre important to you.
Todayâs great photo is from Kelsey Wittels of Truckee: the Sierra Nevada mountains â âthe essence of Californiaâ â near Emerald Bay.
Kelsey writes: âEmerald Bay in Lake Tahoe encapsulates so many natural elements of California: a crystal clear alpine lake, towering granite walls, a deep snow pack, and a long and diverse history of native Americans, settlers, poets, and explorers.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.