After record heat ravaged Southern California and fueled wildfires, much of the state will experience below-average temperatures, rain and even snow early this week.
The National Weather Service issued its earliest snow advisory in 20 years over the weekend for parts of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In Southern California, where three wildfires have burned more than 115,000 acres and burned out of control for days, a rapid cooldown and higher humidity levels have provided some relief to firefighters trying to tackle the blazes.
The largest of the three, the Bridge fire in the Angeles National Forest, was 11% contained as of Monday morning, while the Line fire in San Bernardino County was 42% contained. The Airport Fire, which burned in Orange County last week and is burning in Riverside County, is 31% contained as of Monday.
“It’s a nice temperature change and a relief after that heat wave,” said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
A back-to-back low pressure system, which has dropped temperatures 5 to 10 degrees below normal in Southern California, is expected to bring a period of drizzle Tuesday evening into Thursday. Much of Los Angeles County could see less than ten inches. The foothills can see up to a quarter of an inch.
Temperatures are expected to remain in the mid to upper 60s along the coast and the low to mid 70s inland. Downtown Los Angeles, which reached 112 degrees earlier this month, saw a 40-degree temperature drop, Lewis said.
In the Sierra Nevada mountains, about 3 inches of fresh powder could fall at elevations above 8,000 feet from Fresno County to Yosemite through Monday night. And more can be done after that, said Antoinette Serrato, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.
“A low pressure system is bringing cold air from the Arctic region and will bring early snow to the region,” Serrato said.
While cooler weather is expected to continue to help crews, it doesn’t portend a slow fire season, experts said.
“This is a very small blip in the overall fire season,” said Robert Foxworthy, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “We have ups and downs with weather as patterns shift, so the fact that we have some cool weather now and slowing fire season will not always change the total result of fire season.”
Southern California’s most destructive and devastating fires tend to occur in the coming months with the arrival of Santa Ana winds that can help turn small fires into blazes.
On Sunday night, windy conditions prevented planes from flying over the Bridge fire but crews were able to make some progress on containment.
Firefighters are focusing primarily on the northwest side of the blaze, which continues to be the most active, to protect the communities of Big Pines and Pinon Hills. To the east, the fire is less active but still dangerous for the Mount Baldy area, according to Cal Fire.
Crews will continue to focus on the northwest side of the fire Monday night. The low temperatures will help firefighters slow the growth of the large fire, but the wind will create more obstacles, LA County Fire spokesman Kenishi Hafkett said.
Winds are expected to shift from the southwest to the northwest between 4 and 8 p.m. Monday, which could fan more flames and push the fire away from the main fire, Hafkett said.
Fifty-four buildings have been destroyed and another 13 destroyed by fire. Three people, including a civilian and a firefighter, have been injured.
Winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour near the Line fire in San Bernardino County helped fuel the fire Sunday night as it continued to move through dry vegetation in the area. The fire destroyed one building and damaged four others.
At lower elevations, firefighting conditions are expected to improve due to cooler temperatures, higher humidity levels and cloud cover. At elevations above 5,000 feet, temperatures are expected to be slightly warmer and drier. Highs are expected in the mid-50s, said Rick Carhart, a spokesman for Cal Fire.
“This fire is definitely not over and there is still a lot to do,” he said.
