The Santa Ana Winds are at it again. Just last week powerful gusts wreaked havoc on the San Diego region, toppling massive trees and taking out power.
And now, just days later, they're blowing again. The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for San Diego County through Saturday morning.
Wind gusts are predicted to be up to 70 mph in the mountains and the weather service warns the area could see downed trees and power outages.
"It’s all or nothing this winter," said Alex Tardy, a National Weather Service senior meteorologist.
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Tardy said Santa Anas are normal this time of year, but the winds coupled with a lack of rain are a problem.
"The longer you go into February without seeing much rain we might again be talking about fire weather because unfortunately it looks like more Santa Ana Winds will set up next week," he said.
This reality is keeping fire crews on alter.
"Since we have these wind events so commonly we do stay at a pretty high base line staffing in San Diego County," said Captain Thomas Shoots with Cal Fire San Diego adding that fire crews on alert and ready. "We do still have our aircraft staffed up year round, our hand crews, our dozers, and of course our fire engines."
Tardy says it’s critical that residents don't let their guard down. This means preparing homes and having an evacuation plan even late in the winter.
"We need to take them serious each time they occur whether it’s wind damage or wildfire threat, sometimes both," he said.
