Santa Ana winds fuel brush fire in Jurupa Valley, challenge crews fighting Franklin fire

Fierce Santa Ana winds returned to Southern California on Tuesday, prompting a red flag warning for wide swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and fanning the flames of a Jurupa Valley wildfire that ignited around 8 p.m.

The Jurupa Valley blaze, dubbed the Soto fire, was sparked at Soto Street and Sedona Drive and spread to 30 acres by 9 p.m., according to the Riverside County Fire Department. Evacuation orders were announced for several nearby residential streets and a care and reception center was opened at Patriot High School.

Santa Ana winds started picking up in the Inland Empire on Tuesday afternoon with gusts greater than 40 mph expected overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile in Malibu, high winds are posing a fresh challenge for firefighters working to extinguish the Franklin fire.

The blaze had scorched more than 4,000 acres and was 78% contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Fire crews have prepositioned resources in case the fresh round of Santa Ana winds cause the fire to start moving again.

Southern California Edison warned customers in Malibu to prepare for potential power cuts Tuesday evening to reduce the risk of wildfire ignition. Topanga Canyon Boulevard, a heavily trafficked road connecting Malibu to the San Fernando Valley, was closed to nonresidents Tuesday afternoon because of wildfire danger and will remain so for the duration of the red flag warning, Caltrans announced.

The Franklin fire erupted Dec. 10 amid a rare “particularly dangerous situation” warning with critically low humidity levels in the single digits and wind gusts of up to 75 mph. The current red flag warning is for a more moderate Santa Ana wind event, with gusts of 40 to 60 mph and humidity levels in the low, 10% to 20% range, according to the National Weather Service.

“A typical red flag warning is still very dangerous, but it’s just not going to be quite as dry and not quite as windy,” weather service meteorologist Carol Smith said. “If we do have a fire, we are still expecting rapid growth and extreme fire behavior.”

The red flag warning was in effect as of 3 p.m. Tuesday and covers most of Ventura County and the western half of Los Angeles County. The highest wind gusts are forecast for the Santa Monica, Santa Susanna and San Gabriel mountains.

At the peak of the Franklin fire, almost 2,000 fire personnel were deployed to combat the blaze. On Tuesday, 819 personnel remained assigned to the fire, which has destroyed 20 structures and damaged 28 more, according to Cal Fire.

Firefighters are focused on strengthening fire control lines in steep, rugged terrain and mopping up any small fires around structures, the agency said.