Santa Ana winds gusting to more than 40 mph in San Diego County
Santa Ana winds of more than 40 mph whipped across inland San Diego County on Sunday, elevating the risk of wildfires in a region that’s steadily slipping into drought.
A red-flag fire weather warning is in effect for the coastal regions of the county, and a high wind warning is in effect for the valleys, foothills and mountains.
The warnings aren’t scheduled to expire until Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service issued the warnings because of the dangerous mix of Santa Ana winds, warm temperatures and extremely low relative humidity.
By 1 p.m. Sunday, the humidity had fallen to 14% at San Diego International Airport. It was 6% in Alpine and Ramona and 5% in Fallbrook.
Forecasters say the winds has gusted to 45 mph at Volcan Mountain, 40 mph at Campo, 36 mph at Mount Laguna and 36 mph at Boulevard, in far eastern San Diego County.
gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com
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