When will dangerous LA winds finally calm down? Here is the fire forecast

Extreme winds from the north and northeast will continue to blow into the Los Angeles region through Wednesday morning, bringing gusts of up to 80 mph as firefighters battle fires.

“We’re still in the stronger wind period,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, noting that Wednesday morning gusts reached 75 mph in the La Cañada Flintridge area and 65 mph in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

But while red flag warnings will be in effect for Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County until 8 p.m. 6 p.m. Thursday, the strong winds are expected to ease Wednesday afternoon as a sea breeze blows onshore.

“We’re expecting a pretty significant decline as we get into the afternoon,” Wofford said. “We’ll probably still see some gusts — up to 20 to 40 miles per hour in the mountains and the San Fernando Valley — but quite a bit less than what we saw overnight and this morning.”

Wofford noted that winds are likely to pick up again Wednesday night, bringing gusts up to 50 mph. But he said winning at that rate is part of a more typical Santa Ana pattern.

“As we move forward and get out of this extreme situation, we should see much, much lighter winds,” Wofford said. “We’re basically in the traditional Santa Ana pattern for the next week.”

More than a thousand homes, businesses and other buildings have burned and at least two people have died in wildfires burning across LA County.

In Pacific Palisades, the Palisades Fire had charred more than 5,000 acres as of Wednesday morning and burned down to the Pacific Coast Highway, engulfing homes along the iconic stretch. About 1,000 structures, including many homes, have been destroyed in the fire, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Wednesday morning.

The Eaton Fire, which broke out Tuesday night, had burned more than 2,200 acres near Altadena and Pasadena whipped by winds gusting up to 99 mph in the area. Two people have died in the Eaton fire and several others have been seriously injured in both the Eaton and Palisades fires, Marrone said.

The Hurst fire, which spread quickly under high winds overnight in Sylmar, had burned 500 acres. Exceptionally strong winds and gusts – of up to 99 mph – had been reported overnight.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said the Palisades fire was fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and surrounding topography, “which makes it extremely challenging for us firefighters to really get a handle on it.”

More wind is expected on Wednesday and Thursday. Probably the biggest growth for the fire is to the west, he said.