Calif. Fire Crews Brace for Return of Santa Anas

By Alan Gomez

As most firefighters continued beating down the wildfires still burning through Southern California on Monday, some were repositioning for a possible return of the seasonal Santa Ana winds later this week.

About 420 firefighters, 25 fire engines and 14 bulldozers were pulled off the remaining active fires to prepare for the expected return Friday of the Santa Anas — dry, hot winds that blow westward from the Mojave Desert. The winds fueled the wildfires, which have burned more than 517,000 acres, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and killed seven people.

Those fires are now largely under control. Crews achieved full containment of two more fires Monday, leaving only five of the original 23 fires still active.

Jerry Rohnert of the U.S. Forest Service in San Bernardino said that even if a fire is declared 100% contained, that doesn’t mean the fire is out. It simply means crews have established sufficient fire lines around flames to stop them from advancing further.

So a return of the Santa Ana winds could mean a resurgence of some of those blazes.

"That’s going to really test the fire lines," Rohnert said. "If they hold, everything is going to be fine. If not … it could be that we’re starting all over again."

Tom Moore, a meteorologist with The Weather Channel, said the winds expected Friday and Saturday may be only half as strong as the gale-force winds that fanned the original blazes.

"Even that can be problematic," he said.

Mary Ann Aldrich of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services hopes that won’t be the case, though, as her office predicted having all the remaining fires fully contained by the end of the week.