A red flag warning of elevated fire danger will remain in place for San Diego County another day as Santa Ana winds were expected to gust 30 to 40 mph in local mountains and valleys amid a drop in humidity, the National Weather Service said.
For the rest of the evening and into early (Thursday) morning, we are going to continue to be seeing Santa Ana winds across most of the valley locations, weather service meteorologist Kyle Wheeler said.
The warning for San Diego Countys valleys was expected to remain in place through Thursday evening, while the warning for the mountain areas will be in place through Friday morning.
Predictions of strong winds prompted the Mountain Empire Unified School District to cancel classes at all of its schools on Wednesday. No announcement had been made by mid-afternoon if classes would resume Thursday.
Wheeler said he expected a peak in the winds, which were blowing from the northeast, to occur just after sunset Wednesday.
Temperatures were expected to be below normal because the storm system producing the winds was very cold and bringing snow to northern Arizona and New Mexico, Wheeler said.
County officials said the East County school district canceled classes because travel on mountain roads can be difficult in windy conditions, especially for high-profile vehicles like school buses. San Diego Gas & Electric also shut off power to nearly 700 residents as a safety measure because of high winds.
A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly, the National Weather Service said. Strong winds combined with low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior, the agency said.
San Diego Gas & Electric said it shut down power to 683 customers in the Campo and Boulevard communities as a public safety power shutoff.
The wind advisory warns that tree limbs could be blown down, resulting in possible power outages, and urges drivers to use extreme caution, especially those driving high-profile vehicles.