San Diego is expecting a warm-up and some Santa Ana winds to close out the year, creating fire-danger concerns among firefighters.
Gradual warming is expected in San Diego County starting Monday. Then by New Year's Eve, humidity will drop and winds will pick up, creating the perfect concoction for wildfires to spark and spread quickly. By Wednesday, humidity could be as low as 10% in some areas and gusts may be in the 20-30 mph range for the foothills and mountains.
"We're not talking about a fire season anymore," said Cal Fire San Diego Capt. Mike Cornette. "We're talking about a fire year. We haven't had that couple of long steady rains to get our moistures back up to where we need to be to be out of fire season, so we're still going to experience the critical fire danger even at the end of December."
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NBC 7 Meteorologist Greg Bledsoe said this December is one of the driest on record, which leaves plenty of fuel for wildfires. The conditions have firefighters particularly concerned about illegal fireworks.
Cornette said illegal fireworks can start wildfires that tie up critical resources and cause millions of dollars in property damage and injuries throughout the state.
Firefighters ask residents to leave the fireworks to the pros, like Legoland and Seaworld's annual New Year's Eve shows. And anyone who spots illegal fireworks should call 911 immediately.
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Despite the weather shift, inland valley areas will continue to see patchy fog in the mornings until at least Tuesday, with a mix of partly cloudy and sunny conditions through the week and highs in the mid-70s, according to the National Weather Service.
Coastal San Diego will be largely unaffected by this wind event, Bledsoe said. The area will see sunny days by mid-week, with highs in the mid-60s. Coastal flooding is possible amid high tides through at least Wednesday, forecasters said.
"It’s a great time to head to the beach to enjoy a little extra sand or some tide exposed tide pools leading up to sunset," Bledsoe said.
Forecasters said patchy fog over the waters could be expected into Tuesday morning.
Mountain areas will see highs in the mid-60s to low 70s.
