An animation of National Weather Service maps shows how the maximum wind gusts are expected to die down gradually Oct. 11 and 12, 2019. The forecasts were current as of noon Friday, Oct. 11.

Gusty Santa Ana winds that have been bedeviling Southern California since early Thursday should dissipate in most areas by Friday night, Oct. 11, according to the National Weather Service.

However, they will persist a bit longer in northern Los Angeles County — including the area where the devastating Saddleridge fire is burning — and Ventura County.

Since the Santa Ana winds started blowing early Thursday, gusts have topped 50, 60 and even 70 mph in the region’s mountains and foothills.

By mid-afternoon Friday, those maximum gusts should be decreasing in Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties — wind speeds could still top 20 or 30 mph, but not much more than that. A red flag warning for those areas’ valleys and mountains, which indicates that strong winds and low humidity are creating high fire danger, is set to expire at 6 p.m.

But a separate red flag warning has been extended to 6 p.m. Saturday for the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Ventura County valleys as well as the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The forecast shows strong wind gusts there continuing overnight Friday, finally starting to die down late Saturday morning.



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