What Are Santa Ana Winds? Dry Winds That Fuelled The California Wildfires Are Back

Last week, devastating wildfires swept through Los Angeles, fueled by the notorious Santa Ana winds. These powerful winds, often called the “Devil Winds,” surged across the region, escalating the intensity of the fires and causing widespread destruction.

The fires remain active, and the Santa Ana winds have returned this week, threatening to worsen the situation further.

Dry Winds Originating From the Northeast

Santa Ana winds are hot, dry gusts originating from the northeast. As these winds move toward Los Angeles, they accelerate over the region’s mountainous terrain, significantly lowering humidity levels and creating prime conditions for wildfires.

While investigators are still determining the precise causes of each fire, the winds have been largely blamed for turning last week’s wildfires into uncontrollable infernos. Entire neighborhoods were reduced to ashes.

Compounding the crisis is the impact of climate change, which has intensified heat and aridity across the region. Los Angeles has not experienced significant rainfall for over eight months, even during its typically wetter season.

How the Santa Ana Winds Fueled Last Week’s Fires

In the early hours of last Tuesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning in anticipation of violent winds.

“It was about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the NWS reported.

The first fire ignited in Palisades at 10:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday, with its cause still under investigation. Over the following days, wind speeds reached a staggering 99 mph in some areas, fueling five additional fires that collectively scorched more than 40,000 acres.

By the weekend, calmer winds allowed firefighters to extinguish three of the blazes. However, by Monday, the two largest fires—Palisades and Eaton—remained active, with less than half of their perimeters contained. The Hurst fire was still burning but was nearly under control.

The Return of High Santa Ana Winds

On Monday, Santa Ana winds began picking up again, prompting the NWS to issue another red flag warning from 4 a.m. Tuesday to noon Wednesday. These winds, ranging from 30-40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph, pose a significant threat to containment efforts and could exacerbate the fires.

Tuesday is expected to be the most perilous day, warned Dennis Burns, a fire behavior analyst, during a community meeting on Sunday.

The warning areas include Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Eastern San Gabriel Mountains, Malibu Coast, and Santa Clarita Valley.

“Critical fire weather is expected, so PLEASE have multiple ways of getting notifications in case of new fires,” urged the NWS.

Implications for Southern California

Although the winds are unlikely to reach last week’s extreme speeds, they are sufficient to spark “extremely rapid spread,” warned Chris England, meteorologist for Sky News.

“Yes, the winds are coming back,” England said. “It won’t be as windy as when the fires started, but that’s more than enough to ensure extremely rapid spread and difficult containment.”

Joe McNorton, a fire scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, noted that moderate winds could “potentially [sustain] the risk of fire spread before conditions ease.”

Authorities have sought to reassure residents by pre-positioning fire engines in high-risk areas and deploying additional firefighters to patrol vulnerable zones.

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