No emergency outages after Santa Ana winds prompted Southern California fire danger warnings
A tree that appeared to be on fire, due to high winds, was seen during a wind advisory in Oxnard on Monday, December 3, 2019. Heavy fog rolled through the area. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Press Democrat)
Trees on fire in Oxnard were visible to a camera Monday morning, due to high winds with a few brief, but intense, gusts.
There was no official fire danger warning for Santa Ana winds that prompted Southern California fire officials to issue a “Wind Advisory For Gusty Winds” in effect from noon to 8 p.m. Monday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a wind advisory, noting high winds were moving in the area and the winds would be “gusty and variable.”
However, a report by the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), the local agency that’s responsible for fire protection, said firefighters had “successfully extinguished a portion of a tree on fire.”
“No injuries or damage to structures were reported,” the OCFAs statement read.
Although no fires were reported at the time of the report, officials did note that a section of the coast near Los Alamitos Bay experienced gusty winds. A section of coastline near Laguna Beach was “also experiencing high winds” at the time of the report.
A section of the coast in Orange County also experienced gusty winds, with reports of wind gusts of up to 65 mph.
“This is currently an extreme fire danger advisory situation,” the NWS reported.
“Wind Advisory For Gusty Winds”
The winds were predicted to be gusty and changeable along the coast, particularly in the areas that were closest to land. Gusts of up to 20 mph were expected with gusts as high as 30 mph.
NWS officials