Gusty wind event prompts high fire danger, potential power shutoffs in Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Monday featured slightly cooler weather conditions, but low humidity and gusty winds are expected to pick up in the evening, prompting a Fire Weather Watch, Red Flag Warning and likely signaling a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff in parts of the Bay Area.
The National Weather Service first issued a Fire Weather Watch on Sunday in the North Bay mountains, East Bay Hills and Santa Cruz mountains from 11 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Wednesday for "dry conditions & gusty offshore flow."
On Monday, the agency upgraded the alert to a Red Flag Warning for the North Bay with an emphasis on Napa County and Northern Sonoma County. North to northeast winds are forecasted at 10 to 25 mph and gusts at 30 to 40 mph, NWS said.
"Tuesday and Wednesday will be mainly sunny and mild to warm, with highs ranging from upper 60s at the coast to near 90 degrees inland," ABC7 Weather Anchor Spencer Christian says. " We can also expect increased fire danger in the Bay Area's higher elevations, especially the North Bay mountains, with an increase in warm, dry wind gusts."
Due to the upcoming forecast of high fire danger, Marin County sheriffs announced that Fairfax-Bolinas Road will be closed between the Meadow Club and Highway 1 in Bolinas starting Monday evening at 7 p.m. through Wednesday at 8 a.m. Officials say in the event of an emergency when access was needed for an evacuation, the road will be reopened.
WATCH: PG&E monitoring conditions for possible PSPS
Those enjoying the area Monday had no objections after hearing that news.
"Totally understand that having people up here is increasing the risk and they want to take the right precautions," says Sean Miller who was finishing his run when we spoke with him.
Officials tell us the more cars that travel along that road, the more chances there are for a spark that could ignite a fire. Close the road and that threat is greatly reduced.
"I'm not ever going to complain about being safe," says Marty Ross of Marin County. "It is for our safety and if it helps prevent more fires like what happened in Santa Rosa and what's going on right now then I'm all for it," says Gavin Burns who also lives in Marin County.
PG&E also sent an alert to customers that they are monitoring the weather for a potential PSPS event starting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, that may impact 19 counties, including 6 Bay Area counties. The agency says an outage watch might impact the following counties: Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Napa, Plumas, Santa Clara, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.
Check if you'll be impacted with PG&E's website here.
Once the initial fire watch ends on Wednesday morning, another alert goes into effect Wednesday night at 10 p.m. to Friay morning at 8 a.m., officials say.
