Southern California welcomed cooler temperatures and spotty rain on Saturday as a tropical storm veered off the Pacific coast and eased, helping put an end to a blistering heatwave that nearly overwhelmed the state’s power grid.
Thunderstorms were forecast for the Los Angeles area on Saturday, which could linger in mountainous areas on Sunday. But after Hurricane Kay made landfall in Mexico this week, it was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm and continued to weaken until it largely disappeared, said John Dumas, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, adding that the sporadic rain that falls in the region, leftover moisture from a past storm.
“Is the worst over? Yes,” Dumas said.
In Southern California, cooler temperatures and humidity gave breather to firefighters battling the massive Fairview Fire about 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles after sweltering heat pushed temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in many locations this week.
The blaze has threatened more than 10,000 homes and other buildings, but firefighters have made progress and said they expect full containment by Monday.
However, firefighters warned that northern California communities are still at risk of a heatwave and wildfires, and that there is a possibility of a Blitz Sunday in the northern Sierra. In the foothills east of Sacramento, the mosquito fire spread to at least 51 square miles Saturday, threatening 3,6000 homes in Placer and El Dorado counties and blanketing the region in smoke.
“We are not seeing a corresponding drop in fire activity at this time,” said Issac Sanchez, chief of the Cal Fire Battalion.
The National Weather Service forecast an end to the grueling heatwave in the Los Angeles area on Saturday. A flood watch remained in effect through the end of the day in mountainous areas previously charred by wildfires, and there was a possibility of some coastal flooding due to high surf, Dumas said.
In Southern California, officials in coastal cities put up warning signs and provided sandbags for residents over fears of flooding. Minor flooding was reported at a beach parking lot and some local roads in parched desert communities around Palm Springs.
Some mountain communities east of San Diego reported several inches of rain early Saturday, while low-lying coastal areas saw less than an inch.
It was hot, muggy and drizzly in Huntington Beach in Orange County on Saturday as Aaron French, 30, played disc golf with friends. A midday breeze made gaming more comfortable after a week of sweltering heat and humidity.
“It’s been a wild, wild week of weather,” French said while whistling a slice through the unusually quiet park. “You just have to accept that the weather is the weather and live your life no matter what.”
September has already produced one of the hottest and longest heatwaves on record in California and several other western states. Nearly 54 million people were under heat warnings and advice across the region this week as temperature records were broken in many areas.
The California state capital, Sacramento, hit an all-time high of 116 degrees on Tuesday, breaking a 97-year-old record. The state set a record for electricity consumption on Tuesday as air conditioners whirred amid the heat and authorities instituted near-rolling blackouts as the grid’s capacity was stretched to the limit.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the past three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the past five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in the state’s history.
Firefighters said on Saturday they have so far been unable to contain part of the mosquito fire that has been burning near the town of Foresthill, home to about 1,500 people. David Hance was asleep on the porch of his mother’s mobile home in Foresthill when he woke to a bright red sky early Wednesday and was told to evacuate.
“It was really freaking scary because they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s getting close,'” he said. “It was like a sunset in the middle of the night.”
The fire has blanketed much of the region in smoke, and California health officials are urging people in affected areas to stay indoors if possible. Tour de Tahoe organizers have canceled the annual 72-mile bike ride that was scheduled around Lake Tahoe on Sunday because of heavy smoke from the fire — more than 50 miles away. Last year’s ride was canceled due to smoke from another large fire south of Tahoe.
The cause of the mosquito fire continued to be investigated. Pacific Gas & Electric said unspecified “electrical activity” occurred shortly before the fire was reported Tuesday.