Dry, windy conditions trigger red flag warning

The National Weather Service called for a red flag warning starting Monday night in Sonoma County due to dry, windy weather forecast over the next two days.

Sustained northeast winds between 20 to 30 mph with gusts hitting 40 to 50 mph were expected to arrive late Monday in areas above 1,000 feet in elevation in the North Bay mountains, weather forecasters said. The red flag warning remains in effect through 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Rincon Valley Fire Chief Mike Heine said low humidity, dry vegetation and strong winds increase the risk of fires spreading rapidly.

“The key takeaway for the public is to stay vigilant,” Heine said. “We don’t want you to use power or electrical equipment anywhere near dry vegetation. Don’t go mow the grass. Refrain from using outdoor fire pits.”

The fire chief recommended people in higher elevations monitor media for public safety announcements.

In response to the threat, Sonoma County will be calling in two strike teams comprising more than a dozen engines to patrol areas with great fire risk, according to Santa Rosa Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.

“The plan is to have them patrolling the areas impacted by the red flag warning, predominantly the eastern portions of Sonoma County,” such as Sonoma Valley, Mark West Springs, and Los Alamos, Lowenthal said.

PG&E has no plans at this point to turn off power for any parts of Sonoma County due to this weather event, spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said late Monday. But meteorologists at the utility’s 24/7 wildfire safety operations center in San Francisco will “monitor conditions around the clock,” she said.

Forecasters said initial humidity of 40 to 50 percent Monday was expected to drop to 9 to 19 percent by today with little to no recovery of humidity tonight.

Heine said that means the sea breeze that typically comes in at night wasn’t expected to arrive for about 48 hours.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@jjpressdem.