More ‘Red Flag’ Weather May Be Headed to Southern California

Fire-stricken American flags blow in the wind near damage caused by the Palisades Fire near Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Southern California weather forecasters are keeping an eye on an incoming system expected to bring more dangerous winds and low humidity starting Jan. 20 to the same region struck by catastrophic wildfires last week.

Los Angeles and Ventura counties could be hit with more red-flag warnings, indicating extreme fire danger, as humidity is expected to dip below 10 percent and Santa Ana winds could reach 50 miles per hour, according to the local office of the National Weather Service.

Forecasters expect to know by Sunday if the warnings will return.

“We’re expecting around two periods next week with enhanced winds,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Ryan Kittell told The Epoch Times on Thursday.

Forecasters are still examining a range of outcomes, but there was a “very high” likelihood that the region would meet red-flag conditions sometime next week, according to Kittell.

“It’s on the table but we probably won’t make that call until Sunday at the latest,” he said.

Similar conditions were blamed for quickly spreading flames across Southern California’s coastal region starting Jan. 7, killing at least 25 people and destroying thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

Winds reached 100 mph during the worst of the weather, driving flames through neighborhoods in what could be the costliest disaster in U.S. history.

The deadly blazes burned through an area the size of Washington state and forced some 200,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Southern California’s Santa Ana winds are a weather phenomenon named after the region’s Santa Ana Canyon.

The blustery, dry, and warm winds blow from the desert toward the ocean. The winds develop when the desert is relatively cold and are most common during the state’s cool season from October through March, according to the University of California–Los Angeles.

The latest red-flag warnings were lifted on Wednesday and weather was expected to improve for the remainder of the week, according to the National Weather Service.

A beachfront home destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Jan. 15. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

In a post on Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office said the region can expect some relief as the week ends but that more bad weather is on its way.

“Good news: We are expecting a much-needed break from the fire weather concerns to close this week,” the National Weather Service wrote in a post on X. “Bad news: Next week is a concern. While confident that we will NOT see a repeat of last week, dangerous fire weather conditions are expected.”