Santa Ana Winds

Get ready for a rollercoaster weather ride as strong Santa Ana winds whip through the region today, only to die off and bow to a 20% chance of rain Thursday night. A red flag warning issued for the region will remain in effect until 3 p.m. as offshore winds keep humidity low and daytime temperatures in the lower-80s,  according to the National Weather Service. But that will quickly change Thursday, when a low-pressure system moves in, bringing with it a 10-degree temperature drop and 20% chance of rain overnight.

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.

As powerful Santa Ana winds howled Wednesday night, Glendale resident Nareq Keshishyan could only stand and watch as his family's Christmas tree operation on Highland Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard was torn to shreds. Winds lifted a massive tent from the Evergreen Christmas Trees lot and tossed dozens of Christmas trees around the property, he said. “We tried getting close, but it was way too dangerous,” Keshishyan said. “There was nothing we could do but stare and watch.” The Keshishyan's second lot at Colorado and Everett streets also sustained damage during the windstorm.

Weather forecasters have issued red flag warnings for much of the Southland for what "will likely be the strongest and most widespread Santa Ana wind event of the season. " "These critical fire weather conditions combined with very dry fuels will bring extreme fire danger to the Southland," the National Weather Service said in a statement Wednesday. Red flag fire warnings signaling extreme wildland fire conditions have been issued for Southern California counties because of Santa Ana winds of up to 65 mph that are expected to blow across the region.

Tim Willert The hills are alive with the sound of crackling brush and vegetation, left dangerously dry by two years of below-average rainfall. Those conditions, combined with the threat of coming Santa Ana winds, have firefighters and those who live in hillside homes bracing for the worst. The threat of a major fire is nothing new for Glendale firefighters, whose coverage area includes 15 square miles of mountain ranges and foothills that by their very nature are susceptible to catastrophic blazes.

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- Brush conditions are drier than normal for this time of year, posing an increasing risk of fire, officials said. As the year wears on into the peak brush fire season in September, October and November -- when the Santa Ana winds sweep through the foothills -- plants gradually dry out, Glendale Fire Capt. Robert Doyle said. But moisture levels in the vegetation around the area are lower than usual, which translates into an increased risk of brush fires, officials said.

Ten Years Ago … Brutal Santa Ana winds hit the Southland, bringing gusts of up to 80 mph to the area where businesses and homes sustained considerable property damage. At the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station on Briggs Avenue a 75-foot tall pine that crashed into the main building was one of several trees knocked over on the property by the powerful winds. Twenty Years Ago …   Armed with a a revolver, a young man wearing a ski mask held up Dominick's Italian Restaurant in La Crescenta on a Friday night in January 1986 and made his escape with an unknown amount of money that he carried off in a brown bag. Thirty Years Ago … "Where Do We Stand Today as a Consumer?"

Ten Years Ago ? To help parents attending Glendale Community College at night, the California Department of Education issued a $143,404 grant to the college's Child Development Center for evening child care service. Twenty Years Ago ? Santa Ana winds gusting to 70 miles per hour reduced to rubble a $335,000 house under construction in the 5300 block of Quail Canyon Road in La Crescenta. No one was injured as the result of what was called a "little tornado" by the construction foreman who had been working on the framing of the house.

Karen S. Kim GLENDALE -- The scorching heat that bore down on Glendale through the weekend and into Monday is expected to cool down slowly by the end of the week. But weather experts said that temperatures in the 90s and low 100s are not unusual for this time of year. "Normally, we're usually pretty warm in September and even early October, but the unusual thing about it is that we had a couple of cool months in July and August this year," said Stuart Seto, spokesman for the National Weather Service.

Los Angeles County Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Steve Martin is a 22-year veteran of the department and knows the foothill area well. He was born and raised in Monrovia and worked in the Altadena fire station for four years as an engineer. He is now battalion chief with three platoons to supervise from Altadena to Little Tujunga. "There are seven different fire stations in this area that I oversee," said Martin, whose office is in Station 82. He says he understands La Cañada's unique relationship to the Angeles National Forest.