Fire weather watch to go into effect on Thursday for San Diego County, other parts of Southern California

The National Weather Service on Tuesday upgraded a fire weather watch that was set to go into effect this week to a full-blown red flag warning amid predictions of gusty winds and low humidity.

The original fire weather watch was set to begin late Wednesday night and remain in effect through Friday evening. The newly-imposed red flag warning will now go into effect at 5 a.m. Thursday and last until 5 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service said.

A red flag warning means a combination of strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures are expected to create conditions ripe for extreme fire behavior.

The San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego county mountains, foothills and inland valleys will all be at increased risk of fire, the NWS said. In San Diego County, the watch area covers an area stretching from a few miles inland from the coast all the way to the Imperial Valley.

East to northeast winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, are forecast for the region, with humidity of 5% to 10%, according to the NWS.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected]