Everyone from firefighters to power line inspectors to park rangers are on the lookout for brush fires as a major Santa Ana windstorm edges ever closer to San Diego County, which has slipped into drought due to uncommonly dry weather.
The system reached Los Angeles County early Tuesday and by early afternoon was spreading a major brush fire in the Pacific Palisades, a community immediately north of Malibu in Los Angeles County. At 1:30 p.m., flames were rushing toward hillsides homes, according to live video from KABC-TV. Drivers were abandoning their cars to flee. Smoke was visible from space satellites.
In San Diego County, a grass fire burned about 2 acres in the Wynola area, near Julian, on Tuesday but was quickly put out.
Forecasters say the winds could spark fires throughout Southern California, including San Diego County’s foothills and canyons, where gusts of up to 60 mph are possible.
The storm is expected to begin generating strong winds in the county around 10 p.m. Tuesday, and that it will intensify before dawn on Wednesday and rage through the morning.
San Diego Gas & Electric said it had already placed dozens of spotters and power line experts in canyons and on peaks throughout the county.
The utility also has notified about 65,000 of its customers that it might have to temporarily turn off their electricity to help minimize the chance of sparking wildfires.
The federal government has supplemented its fire team in the Palomar District of the Cleveland National Forest, adding five fire trucks, a water tender and a bulldozer. The forest remained open to the public.
The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Camp Pendleton was monitoring the Santa Anas to gauge the possible affect on its fighter jets, the Marines said.
All of these agencies are using UC San Diego’s AlertCalifornia, a network of real-time video cameras located at 34 spots across San Diego County.
All of the cameras are equipped with artificial intelligence that specializes in searching for the first puffs of smoke arising from wildfires.
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