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SoCal Weather: Thousands without power as fierce winds pose wildfire threat to 17 million people



The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for areas of multiple counties, including San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura – affecting more than 17 million people as of Friday afternoon.

A red flag warning is issued when an area has ideal conditions for fires to break out and spread, which can occur with strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures, the NWS explained.

In the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles, gusts as high as 74 mph swept through Thursday, the agency said. And in nearby Sylmar, a few fires broke out, but fire crews quickly contained them.

According to CNN meteorologist Rob Shackelford, CalFire said it has increased its number of fire trucks and other resources in the face of increased fire weather, which may remain in the area through Saturday.

As of late Friday morning, there were still about 50,000 customers without power, according to PowerOutage.US. Southern California Edison said it cut power to more than 60,000 customers on Thursday because high winds tend to increase the risk of downed power lines and triggering wildfires. Most of the cutoff points are in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles.
“I’d rather have more wind and less electricity than burn down my house,” said Carl Pride, a Fontana resident CNN branch KABC. “A minor inconvenience is nothing compared to losing my home,” he said, trying to grab his hat as strong winds blew it away.

In North Hollywood, strong winds toppled a tree over the roof of a house, KABC reported.

Fallen trees in several Orange County neighborhoods also caused damage, the branch reported.

The state’s wildfire season has been devastating so far with 8,367 fires burning more than 3 million acres, according to CalFire. The fires have been exacerbated by climate change creating hotter and drier conditions.

“The severe fire weather area included more than 3 million people from Thursday night through Friday morning, and that number dropped to more than a million for mostly people,” said CNN meteorologist Rob Shackelford. Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Friday. The increased threat is likely to remain in the region through Sunday, he said.

A red flag warning is issued when an area has ideal conditions for fires to break out and spread, which can occur with strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures, the NWS explained.

“If ignition occurs, the conditions favorable for rapid fire spread, long range fire and intense fire behavior can pose a threat to life and property.” NWS said.

CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.

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