The Santa Clarita Valley is expecting to experience gusty Santa Ana winds through Wednesday morning, but a public safety power shut-off is not expected.
According to the National Weather Service, the winds will be “more traditional,” filtering through Los Angeles and Ventura County. Winds gusts are expected to reach 30 to 50 mph.
This weather pattern creates dry winds that flow east to west through the mountain passages in Southern California, as air from a high-pressure region over the dry, desert region of the southwestern United States flows westward toward low pressure located off the coast, according to the National Weather Service.
Southern California Edison’s public safety power shut-off weather awareness site states no warning or watch was issued for the overnight wind.
According to Reggie Kumar, a spokesman for Edison, potential vegetation fires are unlikely.
“Though high winds are expected in Southern California this week, recent rains mean ground vegetation is unlikely to burn, and thus communities are not facing significant threats from wildfires,” Kumar said. “No public safety power shut-offs are currently expected.”
In a news release on Tuesday, SCE touted its continued work to enhance its fire science program with the help of Tom Rolinski, SCEs fire scientist leading the effort.
“The utility has implemented cutting-edge technologies to predict the threat of wildfires in high-risk areas, which make up 27% of SCEs 50,000-square-mile service area,” the news release read.
The new technology improves the accuracy of wind speed detection and improves forecast accuracy. Additionally, the use of satellite imagery helps detect potential wildfires.
The technology will potentially alert fire agencies immediately if a possible ignition is detected through SCEs wildfire camera network.
“The technological achievement helps to more precisely determine the wildfire threat and where a public safety power shut-off event may be needed. PSPS is a measure of last resort to reduce the risk of a significant wildfire to keep communities safe,” the news release read.
Additionally, SCE officials encourage customers who live in high-fire-risk areas to check sce.com/pspsweather to see if a PSPS event may happen in their community.
