Santa Ana Winds

Christmas in Southern California definitely will not be white this year. In fact, it's beginning to feel a lot like springtime. Weather forecasters are predicting that temperatures should reach a high of 78 degrees by Christmas Day. They're also saying the Santa Ana winds that knocked out power to about 1,400 Southern California Edison customers Thursday -- the majority of them in Garden Grove, Stanton and San Bernardino -- should subside by...

Gusty Santa Ana winds that could produce hazardous driving conditions could continue in the Los Angeles area until Thursday. Wind gusts could reach up to 60 mph in the Santa Monica, Ventura and Los Angeles mountains. In the San Fernando Valley, gusts could reach 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard. A wind advisory is in effect until 2 p.m. Thursday, said Bonnie Bartling, a specialist with the National Weather Service. Winds are expected to peak Wednesday morning and return during the evening.

Jackson Bell Christy Sundberg and her 2-year-old daughter sat in the picnic area of Descanso Gardens with their best friends Monday, soaking up the warmth of the winter sun. "Weather like this is why we live in California," said Sundberg, a Woodland Hills resident. "Snow on the mountains, a nice breeze in the air, birds chirping and kids playing -- it doesn't get any better than this." Light Santa Ana winds swept into the area Monday, bringing temperatures in the 80s. The balmy weather comes less than a week after pounding rainstorms flooded much of Southern California and caused mudslides that led Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency for Los Angeles and several other counties over the weekend.

Tania Chatila NORTHEAST GLENDALE-- It was sunny, hot and dry in the hills just behind the Glendale Sports Complex -- perfect weather for a fire. That made it perfect weather for a fire drill. "We train like our life depends on it, because it does," said Glendale Fire Capt. Carlos Guerrero, who practiced brush fire drills in the Verdugo Mountains Friday morning with other firefighters from his shift. Fully equipped from head to toe in brush fire gear, the Glendale firefighters did mock drills and simulated fires on the hillside of the sparsely vegetated mountains in preparation of brush fire season.

Gretchen Hoffman LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Los Angeles County fire officials are itching to hold a controlled burn in the foothill brush areas, but weather conditions just won't permit it. Officials have tried several times so far this year, most recently May 22, but low levels of humidity have forced the cancellation of the prescribed burns over and over again. "For every controlled burn we have, we've probably canceled 20 of them," Capt. Brian Jordan said.

Ten Years Ago ... A windstorm with gusts of up to 100 miles per hour battered the foothills on New Year's Eve 1995. The warm Santa Ana winds started in the early evening before building force; at about 11:30 p.m. area residents began calling in damage reports. By 7 a.m. Jan. 1, 1996, the winds abated and cleanup began. Twenty Years Ago ... A La Crescenta man who befriended two hitchhikers was beaten up by the two young men and robbed of his $700 car. The victim was treated at Verdugo Hills Hospital for injuries he suffered in the attack.

Dry heat returned to Newport-Mesa Wednesday, as Santa Ana winds swept through inland Orange County, pushing temperatures near beach communities into the 90s. Wind gusts peaked at 25 mph at John Wayne Airport, but the blustery Santa Anas kept their distance from the beaches, said National Weather Service forecaster Stan Wasowski. A red-flag warning of high fire danger plagued the mountains and canyons, but did not affect any areas in Orange County, Wasowski said.

Ryan Carter Friday was a day for red-flag warnings and a strange haze in the air. The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for Southern California, urging residents to be aware that the area is in an extreme fire danger, particularly in the hilly and brush-laden foothills. "Everyone should take caution, especially people in the foothills, to make sure brush is cleared away from their places," said Bill Hoffer of the National Weather Service.

There's a part of us that secretly likes disasters. Well, maybe not so secretly. That's why Joan Didion 's famous riff on the Santa Ana winds - "the weather of catastrophe, of apocalypse" - is hauled out several times a year to explain what L.A. is all about. It's our rep and we stand by it. We chafe when our calamities are overshadowed by hurricanes in Miami or tornadoes in Joplin. So there was a thrill of recognition when the Nov. 30 windstorm added a new motif to our disaster portfolio: not just earthquakes, fires and mudslides - the possibility of a tree apocalypse.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire warning for Friday because of strong winds and low humidity, but the conditions are expected to be short-lived as a chance of rain hits Southern California by Saturday night. A light offshore breeze could turn into gusty northeast winds in the mountains Friday, making for prime wildfire conditions, the weather service reported. Santa Ana winds are expected to reach up to 40 mph on Friday. Coupled with single-digit humidity, conditions could lead to brush fires.