Santa Ana Winds

by Geghard Arakelian With temperatures getting higher and Santa Ana winds picking up, the sudden rainfall in previous weeks has not changed the fact that this is wildfire season, said Los Angeles County fire officials. "It's still pretty reasonable as far as the possibility for us to have a brush fire," said Capt. Adrian Murrieta, who works in fire station 82 in La Cañada Flintridge. "All you need is a couple days of winds." A yearly fire season comes in between the early fall and late winter.

GLENDALE -- In the wake of recent wildfires that burned more than 24,000 acres at the Los Angeles and Ventura County border, and 1,100 acres in Burbank, firefighters are urging local residents to take extra measures to keep their homes safe from brush fires -- especially residents of homes near the wildland areas of Glendale. "Well, as you know, Glendale is surrounded by mountainous areas, and we have a lot of this, what we call, interface between wildland and homes," Glendale Fire Chief Chris Gray said.

It has been exactly two months since I started training for the Orange County Marathon, scheduled for Jan. 8. To date, I have logged more than 170 miles. That is like running to Palm Springs and back. Until last week, the majority of my runs have been in the early morning. This last week, my wife was out of town, so I needed to juggle my schedule to get the kids off to school each day. To keep on track with the Cal Coast Track Club marathon training program, my only choice was to run during the week after work.

Local firefighters are on high alert this week as dry weather and Santa Ana winds have forced the National Weather Service to extend its red flag warning a week after two fires burned through acres of land in Burbank and Chatsworth. Firefighters continue to be alert and fire danger continues to be high despite the fact that the National Weather Service's red flag warning for Los Angeles County mountains, including Angeles National Forest ended last night. NWS had extended the red flag warning through 8 p.m. Thursday because of low levels of humidity and high Santa Ana winds, expecting 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts to blow through mountain passes.

Newport-Mesa firefighters who spent five days battling blazes in Los Angeles County returned home Sunday, but dry, hot winds predicted for the region this week could raise the risk of more wildfires. Eight firefighters from Newport-Mesa were dispatched to the Topanga fire late Wednesday as part of a five-engine strike team. They were transferred to the Burbank fire Saturday. With the fires in Los Angeles County mostly contained, the Newport-Mesa strike team members are back.

Rima Shah The warm weather that Glendale residents have been enjoying will cool off for the rest of the week, according to Bob Gregg, a local amateur climatologist. Monday's weather, with a high of 75 degrees, was warm, but not even close to the record high for the day. The record for this date was 85 degrees, in 1989, Gregg said. The Santa Ana winds, which blow in from the northeast and compress as they go down the mountains, are a cause for the recent warm temperature, he said.

Gary Moskowitz Local residents can expect the Santa Ana winds to return today, but nothing like the fierce gusts that blew through Glendale and surrounding areas last week. "It will be a little breezy, but it should be a weak one, nothing like last week," National Weather Service Meteorologist Bruce Rockwell said. "There's no guarantee, so we could get stronger winds, but probably not until February." Mild Santa Ana winds that were developing Wednesday should blow through Glendale today at 20 to 30 mph. The winds should last only about 24 hours, Rockwell said.

Ryan Carter With a recent brush fire in the Glendale hillsides and the frequent dispatch of crews to help with fires around Southern California, local officials say this summer has been one of their busiest. And as October marks Fire Prevention Month, officials are warning residents to remain vigilant about the potential for more fire. "It's our primary season," Glendale Fire Capt. Gerald Miller said, "and it basically goes until the end of the year."

Karen S. Kim Residents who broke out the winter bedding and wool jackets last week in preparation for colder fall temperatures might have acted a little too soon. Temperatures rocketed up into the 90s over the weekend, reaching 92 degrees Monday. The surge in heat was caused by offshore winds heating up as they passed through the mountains, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Curt Kaplan. "This could be very typical at this time of year," Kaplan said Monday.

Charles Rich NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- He barely kept his eyes open when he squatted behind the plate. Hoover High baseball catcher Tito Cruz didn't fall asleep. The senior had a degree of difficulty seeing the ball while numerous dust particles whipped up near home plate courtesy of the forceful Santa Ana winds. Cruz shook off the winds and threw out three runners to help Hoover earn an 8-0 nonleague victory against visiting L.A. Marshall on Wednesday.