Community Corner

San Diegans Urged to Prepare for Santa Ana Winds

Wind conditions are expected to continue through Wednesday.

Mayor Jerry Sanders and fire Chief Javier Mainar warned San Diegans to prepare for Santa Ana wind conditions over the next couple of days that could make the region ripe for wildfires.

They were joined at a news conference by National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy, who said it will be very hot at the coast Wednesday and Thursday, with 30-40 mph winds from the northeast gusting through canyons in the area.

The more extreme winds that accompanied the firestorms of 2003 and 2007, which devastated large swaths of the county, are not expected, he said.

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nevertheless, the mayor urged San Diegans to take all , including cutting back brush within 100 feet of residences.

“We have some potentially explosive conditions in San Diego County with lots of dead vegetation,” Sanders said. “It doesn't take much effort and it might pay dividends that are impossible to measure in dollars and lives.”

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mainar said a fire in the northeastern part of the county broke out nearly two weeks ago and rapidly grew to 2,000 acres without the presence of strong winds.

A lot of homes in the city line canyons and uninterrupted brush lands that haven't burned in years, the chief said.

He said the San Diego Fire-Department has more equipment, including a pair of large tanker helicopters it can borrow from San Diego Gas & Electric, and better communications since the Cedar and Witch Creek fires occurred.

-City News Service


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