Southern California’s windy conditions will affect firefighters on Tuesday as they continue to battle a wildfire that broke out Monday night and exploded quickly in Malibu.
“Right now we’re seeing what appears to be some decent areas where the winds are not an issue,” KTLA meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said during the early morning hours before the sun came up.
“Generally speaking, fires tend to move downhill overnight and then they start to move uphill during the day and it all has to do with temperature and humidity. We get our higher humidities at night, so that means our air is able to hold a little bit more moisture and our temperatures cool down,” Henry said.
The Franklin Fire broke out around 10:45 p.m. Monday but had already burned 1,822 acres as of 4 a.m. Tuesday.
“The temperature and the humidity will have a big difference on this as the sun comes up. That is why typically we will see these wildfires grow, or at least get more aggressive during the daytime hours because we have lower humidity, we have higher heat and basically that just fuels these fires,” Henry said.
He added that the heat will rise as the sun comes up driving the fire uphill as it looks for the hottest, driest place to go.
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Crews battle the Franklin Fire as it grows to over 1,600 acres as of 3:45 a.m. Dec. 10 in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event. (RMG News) -
The Franklin Fire grows to over 1,600 acres as of 3:45 a.m. Dec. 10 in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event. (RMG News) -
Ground and air units attack the Franklin Fire in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event. December 2024. (Sky 5) -
Crews are seen attacking the Franklin Fire that erupted in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (RMG News) -
Crews are seen attacking the Franklin Fire that erupted in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (RMG News) -
Crews are seen attacking the Franklin Fire that erupted in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (RMG News) -
The Franklin Fire erupts in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (RMG News)
“We do anticipate, typically between about 8 a.m. to about 10 a.m., where the conditions are really right for the fire to almost just take this second step here of covering more areas, being more aggressive, and the wind becoming more of an issue,” Henry said. “Daytime fires become much more explosive.”
Firefighters have not reached any containment numbers on the fire and it was unclear how many structures may have been damaged or destroyed.
