Santa Ana Winds Prompt Fire Warnings in Southern California

The first strong winds of the season are hitting Southern California this week, bringing warmer temperatures, drier air and a greater risk of wildfires. Forecasters warned that a single spark could turn into a destructive fire. The risk of wildfires reaches to the far northern part of the state, but the experts said the most extreme conditions were expected in the valleys and mountains of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, particularly in Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, just west of Los Angeles. The National Weather Service issued a series of red flag warnings for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, a signal that weather experts and emergency officials are worried that fires could start more easily and spread quickly if they do. Gusts up to 25 miles per hour blew across the San Fernando Valley Wednesday morning. The winds were expected to spread and intensify Thursday into Friday, with gusts likely to reach 70 m.p.h. in the mountains and 50 m.p.h. in the valleys. “Friday is definitely going to bring the worst of it,” said Mike Wofford, a Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .