January 8, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for San Diego County mountains and valleys today and tomorrow due to high winds and extreme fire danger. The strong winds that have fueled two large wildfires decimating Los Angeles County are forecast to move into San Diego County next.

This is the driest winter period measured from October 1 through January 8 since 1850, according to the National Weather Service, increasing fire danger.

Due to high winds and potential power outages, schools in six local districts will be closed today. The San Diego County Office of Education announced the closures for:

• Julian Union Elementary School District
• Julian Union High School District
• Mountain Empire Unified School District
• Ramona Unified School District
• Spencer Valley School District
• Warner Unified School District

“The safety of students and school staff is of the utmost importance to San Diego County school districts,” officials said in a news release.

In Los Angeles County, devastating fires have collectively destroyed over 1,000 homes and two people have died, the Los Angeles Times reports.

By Chuck Westerheide, County of San Diego Communications Office

November 5, 2024 (San Diego) - The National Weather Service in San Diego has issued a Red Flag Warning, which is in effect from 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov 7. The Red Flag Warning has been issued due to strong gusty winds, low humidity and is in effect for the inland valleys and mountains of San Diego County.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

December 2, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E has shut off power to 22,000 homes tonight as winds up to 76 miles per hour have been recorded in parts of East County.  A red flag warning is in effect starting tonight through Saturday at 10 p.m. for inland valleys and mountains countywide due to low humidity and strong winds with gusts of 60 miles per hour or more.

SDG&E earlier  warned 88,700 customers of potential for prolonged public safety shutoffs that could last several days. Tonight, power has been shut off to thousands of residents in areas that include Alpine, Boulevard, Campo, Deerhorn Valley, Dehesa, Descanso, Jacumba, Jamul, Julian, Pine Valley, Potrero, Ramona, Rancho San Diego, Spring Valley, Valley Center, Warner Springs, Wynola and more. Power could be off through Sunday or Monday, according to SDG&E.

Brian D’Agostino, SDG&E’s director of fire science and climate adaptation, will provide a video briefing daily before 3 p.m. for the duration of the weather event. These video briefings will be available on SDG&E’s YouTube channel. The link to today’s briefing is available here. SDG&E will also be posting hourly updates on its NewsCenter at sdgenews.com, as needed.

October 28, 2019  (San Diego) --- The National Weather Service has issued a red flag alert, warning of extremely critical fire weather conditions arriving Tuesday night and continuing through Thursday afernoon.  This has potential to be the strongest Santa Ana wind event so far this season, the NWS predicts.

Update November 14, 2018:  Updated information from Cal Fire indicates there are now at least 48 people confirmed killed in the Camp Fire, with over 100 still missing.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left:  U.S. Forest Service has 250 firefighters helping to battle the Camp Fire.

November 11, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – A red flag warning for San Diego County and much of Southern California has been extended through Tuesday as three major wildfires continue to scorch the state.  Terrified evacuees posted videos such as this one, shot by a woman escaping through tunnels of fire along a freeway north of Los Angeles: https://twitter.com/i/status/1061430443134734339.

By Miriam Raftery

January 28, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – With a red flag warning in effect due to high fire danger and gusty Santa Ana winds forecast through Monday, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) has once again shut off power to many rural and mountain communities.  An outage map curiously labels these as “unplanned outages” even though clicking on communities shown in the SDG&E outages map reveals a message stating that in most of the current outages, “We’ve shut off the power for safety.” 

Power went off last night (Saturday evening) and is not slated for restoration until mid-to-late afternoon on Monday.

The power is presently out in many areas including the East County communitise Boulevard, Live Oak Springs, Descanso, Pine Valley, Alpine, Pine Hills, Santa Ysabel and surrounding communities, affecting thousands of customers. Portions of North County including Valley Center and the Pauma area are also without power.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

December 13, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - A red flag warning for high fire danger is in effect today through Thursday. In addition, the National Weather Service is forecasting strong Santa Ana winds this weekend over the mountains, foothills and passes in San Diego County. Wind gusts could reach 50 to 60 miles and hour with sustained easterly or northeasterly winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour.

Source: San Diego County Emergency Updates

August 16, 2016 (San Diego) -- The National Weather Service has extended the Red Flag Warning until 9 p.m. Thursday for the San Diego County mountains and deserts. The Red Flag Warning has been issued due to strong gusty winds and low. Gusty winds west to southwest along the ridges and desert slopes of the mountains will be accompanied by very low relative humidity, resulting in critical wildfire conditions.

A red flag warning for fire danger is now in effect through Wednesday at 6 p.m. in San Diego’s mountain and inland region. Santa Ana winds with gusts up to 80 miles per hour are forecast.

SDG&E shut off power proactively due to the high winds and fire danger Monday night, leaving about 90 residents in Descanso, Cuyamaca and Boulder Creek without power, ABC 10 News reports. Restoration is expected this morning.

September 27, 2013 (San Diego's East County)--The National Weather Service today issued a Red Flag Warning due to high winds, dry brush and increased fire danger in San Diego County. The Red Flag Warning will be in effect from 12 p.m. Friday, September 27 through 6 p.m. Saturday, September 28 for the following communities: Ramona, Valley Center, Fallbrook, Escondido, El Cajon, Alpine, Potrero, Campo, Santa Ysabel, Descanso, Julian, Ranchita, and Warner Springs.

“Firefighting agencies throughout the state will be on high alert this weekend,” said Cal Fire Captain Mike Mohler.  “This is the first Red Flag Warning of what is shaping up to be one of the most challenging fire seasons in many years.  High winds can turn a spark into a devastating wildfire in just minutes, so we’re calling on San Diegans to be extremely vigilant in the high fire-risk areas of the county.”

During the Red Flag Warning, Cal Fire urges all Californians to exercise extreme caution outdoors in order to prevent wildfires. A few helpful reminders and fire prevention tips include:

April 18, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Create a zone around your house that will slow the wildfire down and possibly direct it around your home. To do this, you must view your yard as a fuel source. Fire will only burn if fuel is present. Fuel can be your landscaping, woodpiles, decks, etc. To create your defensible space, take the following steps within 30 feet of your home, 50 feet if you live in a heavily treed area or 100 feet if your home is on a hillside. If you live in California, a minimum of 100 feet is required (some areas may require more. Check with your local fire department).