Firefighters in Angeles National Forest responded to at least five small wildfires sparked Saturday by thunderstorms in the region as extreme heat elevated fire danger in Southern California.
The small fires in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles burned on a day of red flag warnings that were set to expire Saturday night. An extreme heat warning remains in effect through Sunday.
Firefighters responded to two small lightning fires Saturday morning southwest of Littlerock, near the area of Mount Emma Road and 47th Street, according to Angeles National Forest officials. Another fire was reported in the mountains to the southeast, just west of Wrightwood near Table Mountain.
Lighting fires also popped up near Sunset Peak west of Mount Baldy Road and the area of Old Ridge Route south of Pine Canyon and State Route 138.
There were not reports of structures damaged or threatened.
More thunderstorms are possible Saturday, especially in the high desert and mountains.
“We’ll see that moisture coming in from the southeast through next Tuesday, so we do have that thunderstorm chance through the day,” said NBC4/T52 meteorologist Marcos Mora.
A red flag warning of critical fire danger took effect at 9 a.m. Wednesday and will remain in place through 9 p.m. Saturday in the Santa Clarita Valley, San Gabriel Mountains, Antelope Valley foothills and the Golden State (5) and Antelope Valley (14) freeway corridors.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it is monitoring the forecast and making necessary preparations to meet emergency demands during the heat wave. LAFD added Crew 4, which is a team made up of 26 specially trained personnel who will respond to wildfires within and around the city.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state had pre-deployed firefighting resources to Los Angeles County — totaling 10 fire engines, two water tenders, two bulldozers, one helicopter, two hand crews, thee dispatchers and one Incident Management Team.
Widespread strong winds are not part of the forecast, but the extreme heat and dry brush are enough to raise the risk of fast-moving flames. Breezy conditions are possible in foothill areas and mountains.
Ariel Cohen, of the National Weather Service, said heat events like this are rare, happening about once every two to four years.