LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has placed Lake and many other Northern California counties under another red flag warning as dangerous fire weather conditions continue.
The red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions – driven by a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures – will occur through 7 a.m. Monday.
Forecasters said another round of dry and gusty north to east winds will develop over interior Northern California tonight into early Monday, which raises concerns for conditions on existing fires and new starts.
The area covered by the red flag warning includes Butte County, where the 105,000-acre Camp fire continues to burn. The fire, at 20-percent containment, has so far destroyed more than 6,700 structures and claimed 23 lives, authorities said Saturday night.
The National Weather Service forecast warns of sustained north to east winds increasing to 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts 40 to 50 miles per hour into Sunday over portions of the west slope of the northern Sierra, northern mountains and Coast Range.
There also are expected to be northerly winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts of 25 to 35 miles per hour in the Sacramento Valley, mainly west of Interstate 5, and into Solano County tonight and Sunday morning.
In Lake County, winds are forecast to peak on Sunday night, with the highest wind speeds – into the low 20s – forecast in the south county and in the northern area of the county within the Mendocino National Forest.
The winds are forecast to decrease Sunday afternoon into Monday.
Adding to the fire weather conditions is very low humidity – as low as 5 to 10 percent – with poor overnight recoveries of less than 20 to 30 percent in many areas. Forecasters said those humidity levels will be slow to recover even after the winds abate.
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Lake County, much of interior Northern California under red flag warning through Monday morning
- Elizabeth Larson
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