Red Flag High Fire Risk Extended to Sunday; Driving Warning on Highway 78

Power was restored to the majority of those in scattered remote sections of East County whose service was cut off Saturday as a precaution as Santa Ana winds temporarily raked the area.

San Diego Gas & Electric crews darkened power lines to about 85 customers in Descanso, Green Valley Falls, Cuyamaca, Viejas and Boulder Creek areas to "protect public safety." Service was restored to all but two by late afternoon, because the winds had subsided, utility officials said.

A SDG&E spokeswoman told U-T San Diego today's outage was the first since SDG&E implemented policy changes mandating outages during extreme wind, enacted after the 2007 wildfires.

A National Weather Service cancelled a high wind warning for the mountains and valleys, but a less severe wind advisory was in effect, forecasters said. A Red Flag Warning was extended to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Gauges registered 40 mph gusts on Spangler Peak near Ramona where it was about 75 degrees with 8 percent relative humidity, according to National Weather Service remote observations.

This morning, gusts of 70 miles per hour were recorded on Sill Hill, 65 mph on Big Black Mountain, 59 mph in Hellhole Canyon, 58 mph in Boulder Creek and 56 mph in Buckman Springs, according to National Weather Service remote observations. Late this morning, gusts of 44 miles per hour were recorded near Valley Center, along with a temperature of 73 degrees and 9 percent relative humidity.

The wind advisory, scheduled to noon Sunday, called for winds of 15-25 mph with gusts to 45 mph in the valleys and 50 mph in the mountains.

The Red Flag Warning for inland valley and mountain areas stated that the gusty winds combined with low humidity and warm weather "will  contribute to extreme fire behavior."

Blowing dust could impact motorists' visibility and driving could become difficult for those in high profile vehicles, along portions of Interstate 8 and state highways 78 and 79, according to the NWS.

-City News Service