Santa Ana Winds Pick Up Putting More Californians At Risk From Fires

Californians, already reeling from wildfires that left destruction in their wake, are bracing for some bad days ahead as Santa Ana winds pick up, with gusts in the forecast of as much as 80 mph. 

According to the Weather Channel, strong Santa Ana winds will blow through parts of Southern California Wednesday, creating a dangerous situation for uncontained wildfires.

RELATED: LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT TURNS TO TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES 

It has already resulted in the evacuation of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and 6,500 homes in the area. The wildfire was reported at 6:00 a.m. local time in California and by 10:00 a.m. it had burned 1,300 acres. 

#EasyFire As of 10:00 AM fire is approx 1,300 acres and threatening 6,500 homes. Keep up with the latest incident information including evacs and road closure at https://t.co/lZ7sT3kXmB Unified Command with @VCFD, @CalFire, @VCSO and @SimiValleyPD pic.twitter.com/5MW82QJWXV

— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) October 30, 2019

Officials from the Reagan museum told NBC News that flames got within 50 feet of the library but thanks to firefighters they were able to beat back the fire. The officials expressed optimism that the museum and its structures will be safe. 

Smoke advisories issued in Los Angeles 

Just minutes ago the National Weather Service issued smoke advisories and windblown dust advisories for residents near the Getty Fire burning in Los Angeles. Currently, there are fires breaking out in the southern and northern parts of the state.  

ADVISORY UPDATES: Windblown Dust Advisory and Smoke Advisories covering the #GettyFire and #MartinezFire continue through Thursday morning, October 31st: https://t.co/Y158Op74tv https://t.co/ZbHHnKW2tx

— South Coast AQMD (@SouthCoastAQMD) October 30, 2019

Earlier in the day the National Weather Service issued extreme Red Flag warnings for northern and southern California running from now until Friday. The NWS called the situation "extremely critical and life threatening" in its warning. 

"An intense Santa Ana wind event is ongoing across southern California due to a very strong surface pressure gradient. Recent observations indicate 40-60 mph wind gusts in terrain-favored areas along with extremely low (2-10%) RH values," warned the NWS. These conditions may slacken briefly around midday before exceeding extremely critical thresholds once again tonight into early Thursday morning."