Santa Ana winds to increase fire risk in San Diego County again this week

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Another round of strong, arid Santa Ana winds will elevate wildfire dangers once again this week in the San Diego area, the National Weather Service advised today.

To alert the public to the local combustion hazards, the NWS will institute a "red flag" warning effective from 11 p.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Thursday for the county's inland valleys and mountains.

The conditions – featuring winds out of the east and northeast at 50 to 80 mph, combined with humidity levels as low as 5% – are likely to be the strongest of the season so far and create "an extreme fire-weather environment," the federal agency warned.

The highest winds will occur during the late nights and morning hours, with the strongest ones forecast to occur late Wednesday and early Thursday, according to the weather service.

Any fires erupting over the period would tend to spread rapidly and be difficult to extinguish, meteorologists said.

Though the winds are expected to weaken by Friday, very low humidity will remain in the region through the weekend, keeping fire hazards high, according to the NWS.