{"id":500330,"date":"2026-10-18T18:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T18:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/500330\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T18:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T18:18:14","slug":"southern-california-fires-ease-as-santa-ana-winds-die-down-but-rain-could-bring-new-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/500330\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern California fires ease as Santa Ana winds die down. But rain could bring new risks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Strong Santa Ana winds that fueled a rash of wildfires in Southern California have abated, and crews are turning a corner on the blazes that closed highways, damaged a military base and destroyed multimillion-dollar homes. But an incoming storm system could pose new risks for the region as crews continue to brace for more wild weather this fall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The most destructive of the past week\u2019s fires, the 570-acre Norte fire in San Clemente, was 25% contained as of Sunday morning, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The blaze, which sparked around 11:30 a.m. Friday, damaged or destroyed at least seven structures<\/a> and forced about 16,000 people to evacuate as 40 mph gusts fanned the flames. <\/p>\n

All evacuation orders have now been lifted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Firefighters will remain in the area for the next several days as they mop up hot spots and secure the fire\u2019s perimeter, officials said.<\/p>\n

It was one of several fires to wreak havoc in the region, where powerful downslope Santa Ana winds met with warm temperatures and dried vegetation that was primed to burn.<\/p>\n

But a significant cooldown is expected in Southern California through the middle of the week, with widespread rain likely Wednesday and Thursday, and possibly some thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service, which warned<\/a> that the rain could trigger debris flow near recent burn scars.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time we get high-intensity rainfall with any showers and thunderstorms, if they occur where there\u2019s a recent burn area, there\u2019s always the possibility of a mud and debris flow,\u201d said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. \u201cSo we can\u2019t rule that out. … We\u2019re going to be keeping a close eye on the storm system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Models are yet not in agreement about the amount of rain that could fall, with current forecasts between 1 and 2 inches along the coast and foothills of L.A. County and up to 3 inches in the mountains, he said.<\/p>\n

Sirard said this week\u2019s rain and cooldown also don\u2019t necessarily mean an end to the heat that has boiled the region in recent months. \u201cIt\u2019s not unusual to get warm spells into November, \u201c he said.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the fires could signal what the rest of the year has in store. Santa Anas typically arrive in the fall, and the next three months are likely to be warmer than normal across California, according to the latest seasonal outlook<\/a> from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That\u2019s after several months of dryness and record-breaking high temperatures<\/a> that have baked the state\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time we have these strong winds forecasted … that\u2019s the most receptive time for any start to really take hold and spread,\u201d said Sean Doran, a spokesman with the Orange County Fire Authority. <\/p>\n

However, El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> is expected to bring soggy conditions to the Golden State, which could deliver an early end to the fire season. The climate pattern in the tropical Pacific is associated with warm, wet winters in California, and has already delivered powerful ocean swells<\/a> along the state\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n

In that way, fire crews and emergency operators across the state are preparing for both wildfire, flood potential and debris flows, Doran said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we always are,\u201d he added, \u201cbecause we know that\u2019s where something happens: We have a wildfire, and the second phase of that wildfire is the potential for mudslides and debris flow as the winter comes.\u201d <\/p>\n

Doran said crews in Orange County are also conducting \u201csuppression repair\u201d around the Norte fire \u2014 an effort to restore the burned area to its original state as best as possible. The work involves throwing shrubs and clippings over the area in order to re-establish its natural habitat, which not only maintains the visual but also helps create barriers to runoff and debris flow, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really big piece that isn\u2019t talked about as much because it\u2019s after the flames are out,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s what we really need \u2014 is to try and get that habitat back if it is to do what it\u2019s supposed to do, and re-establish itself and have the best chance to survive as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the changing conditions have helped crews turn a corner on the region\u2019s fires. The 146-acre Bryson fire<\/a>, which sparked in Malibu on Thursday, was 68% contained as of Sunday morning, and all evacuation orders had been lifted. <\/p>\n

And in northern San Diego County, the Henderson fire<\/a> near Camp Pendleton was 65% contained. The blaze burned more than 3,100 acres near the Marine Corps base in Oceanside. <\/p>\n

The causes of all three fires remain under investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Strong Santa Ana winds that fueled a rash of wildfires in Southern California have abated, and crews are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[599,7,9,8,6947,4997,3802,193946,71209,62,10263,6541,193945,193944,225,315,430,3000],"class_list":["post-500330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-area","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-crew","tag-debris-flow","tag-fire","tag-new-risk","tag-orange-county-fire-authority","tag-rain","tag-region","tag-santa-ana-wind","tag-sean-doran","tag-southern-california-fire","tag-state","tag-time","tag-week","tag-wildfire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}