Cooler but windy: Northern California faces more fire risk, another red flag warning
Yet another round of very gusty winds has prompted high wildfire concern through at least the end of this week in Northern California.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning lasting from 10 p.m. Wednesday through 5 p.m. Friday for large portions of the greater Bay Area, most of the northern Sacramento Valley and a stretch of the central and northern Sierra Nevada foothills due to intense winds and very dry conditions in the forecast.
Much of the impacted region just got through a separate red flag warning that expired earlier Wednesday morning. So, yes, that means some parts of Northern California will technically have two critical wildfire weather warnings in a single day.
Gusts maxed out around 30 mph earlier this week, growing some minor fire incidents including one near Cameron Park in El Dorado County, but fire officials didn’t note any major or dangerous new starts or flare-ups to existing fires burning in the north half of the state.
The incoming weather system is expected to bring stronger gusts and thus more fire danger. Sustained winds blowing from the north and the east will range from 15 mph to 25 mph, with gusts reaching up to 45 mph, according to the latest NWS forecasts.
Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit said in a news release that firefighters are bracing for gusts up to 50 mph in the North Bay before the end of the week. The unit is increasing staffing in the area, and authorities are asking residents to have emergency supply kits at the ready in case evacuations become necessary. In Sonoma and Napa counties, crews just reached 100% containment on the Glass Fire, a blaze from late September that leveled more than 600 homes.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has warned since the start of this week that it may need to cut power to about 54,000 customers in parts of 19 counties, another round of its “public safety power shutoff” program meant to mitigate wildfire risk from potentially downed, electrified equipment.
The decision hasn’t gone officially final, but PG&E on its website says shutoffs are “likely” beginning late Wednesday or overnight and could continue through Friday.
California’s record-setting fire season continues, and the risk isn’t expected to subside to a meaningful extent until widespread rainfall can dampen some of the critically dangerous vegetation that has been apt to burn for months. There’s currently no widespread precipitation in the forecast for the remainder of October.
Cooler temperatures despite fire danger
A cool-down is still incoming for Northern California, including the Sacramento area, to end this week.
Mid-October highs have been much hotter than average in Sacramento — the eight days leading up to Wednesday all reached the 90s.
But the capital will cool toward more seasonably normal weather very soon, with max temperatures expected around 80 degrees Thursday and Friday, then 75 degrees by Saturday, according to the latest NWS forecasts.
Given the hot end of summer and beginning of autumn, Sunday’s predicted high of 67 degrees in Sacramento might feel downright frigid.
Temperatures will trend similarly across the valley. The Bay Area will also cool, to the low 70s or mid 60s, by the weekend. South Lake Tahoe will see highs in the 50s through Saturday and then a big drop Sunday, with a high of just 36 degrees and a slight chance of snow at high elevations, NWS forecasts show.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Cooler but windy: Northern California faces more fire risk, another red flag warning."
