Region faces ‘extreme’ fire danger, triple-digit heat

There is an “extreme” danger of a fire starting in counties from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara on Thursday and Friday, the National Weather Service said.

The danger is so high because of a “combination of moderate to strong Santa Ana winds, hot temperatures, very low humidities and unusually dry fuels,” the service said in a statement Thursday morning.

Mountains and valleys across L.A. and Ventura counties are under a red flag warning through Friday night, with humidity expected to be extremely low and hot winds blasting north across the region at speeds upward of 40 mph in the valleys and coasts and 70 mph on mountaintops, the L.A. Times reported.

The poor weather is fanning a fire in Riverside County, where firefighters have been battling flames near Banning since Wednesday afternoon.

In the Burbank-Glendale area, temperatures on Thursday were expected to hit the mid-90s, with 20 mph to 30 mph winds and possible gusts of up to 50 mph. In the greater Pasadena region, daytime highs were also expected to peak in the mid-90s Thursday, with winds of 15 mph to 25 mph, according to the weather service.

-- Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times