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Another PDS Red Flag Alert issued for Ventura and Los Angeles Counties: Exactly what does it mean?

A car destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo.
Lance Orozco
/
KCLU
A car destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo.

They are rare, but four have been issued in the last three months, including one leading to November's destructive Mountain Fire in Ventura County.

Extreme wildfire danger is once again hitting the Tri-Counties.

Not only do we have Red Flag Warnings for much of the region, we have what’s known as a PDS—or Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning—for parts of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties.

The PDS is a rare warning used in critical situations.

"We have criteria to hit like wind speeds and relative humidity for the Red Flag Warning," said Brian Lewis, who's a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "In addition to those, when we have strong damaging winds, essentially over 55 miles an hour in certain areas, and extremely dry fuels like we've seen, and the lack of rain, that creates the Particularly Dangerous Situation that is more dangerous than your typical Red Flag."

There was a PDS issued for the November 6 Mountain Fire in Ventura County, the Franklin Fire in Malibu in December, and for the fires last week.

This week's is the fourth in three months.

The area covered by this latest PDS includes much of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. In Ventura County, the list includes Ventura, Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Agoura Hills.

The wind pattern is a bit different than some other recent Red Flag Warnings.

"It's more of your traditional Santa Ana wind with more of a northeast component, compared to last week's which was more of a north component," said Lewis. He said last week there was a mountain wave component which isn't happening this week.

He said the focus this time is eastern Ventura County, and the western portions of the Santa Monica mountains and western Los Angeles County.

National Weather Service

Santa Anas are normally a big threat in the fall. The destructive Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties was in December of 2017, and the Woolsey Fire in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties was in November of 2018.

"We get them all the way to springtime, but they are typically strongest in the fall. We also typically have some rainfall by this period," said Lewis.

Ventura is at 3% of normal rainfall, Camarillo 7%, Moorpark 9%, and Thousand Oaks 3%. Santa Barbara County is at 18% of normal.

Lewis said at this point, there's no rain in the extended forecast.

There is currently a Red Flag Warning for much of the Tri-Counties, including the mountains of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties.

And, that Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning for much of Ventura County and parts of Los Angeles County is in effect until 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.