Santa Ana Winds Drive Southern California Fires

The devastating fires across the Los Angeles region are driven by Santa Ana winds that blow from the deserts of interior California and Nevada out to the Pacific Ocean. Santa Ana winds are feared by Califor- nians because they are fast- moving, dry and extremely warm conditions that can turn a tiny spark into a raging blaze that is difficult to control.

- ERIC NIILER

How do Santa Anas form?

These winds occur in the fall and winter when a high pressure system develops in the Great Basin of the interior West as a low-pressure