A dangerous situation - SoCal: Another busy fire weather stretch

Another busy fire weather stretch is once again in the southern California forecast as warm, dry Santa Ana winds gust to near 70 mph. A potentially dangerous situation is underway.

Critical to extreme fire weather conditions stretch from Santa Barbara to San Diego and include more than 10 million people. The combination of drought (severe), low humidity and gusty winds has created yet another extreme environment for fires to spread dangerously fast, like what we saw just one week ago.

The WindRadar shows the northeasterly gusts sweeping through the mountainous landscape and funneling down towards the southern California shoreline, helping current and future wildfires to spread.

Additionally, the air quality near and around the fires can deteriorate. If you are seeing smoke in your area, chances are the air quality is becoming unhealthy. Use the AQI tool in the app to monitor this.

More than 8,000 firefighters and first responders are battling the already present blazes, including the Pacific Palisades fire, but more are likely to spark today and Wednesday. Residents and visitors are advised to avoid everything that could produce a spark. Even still-lit cigarettes tossed out of a car window can quickly create a fast-spreading wildfire.