Overview
- The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of the Central Coast and Santa Cruz Mountains for Friday from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. because of the threat of lightning and gusty, erratic winds.
- Remnants of Former Tropical Storm Iselle are expected to lift moisture aloft that may create thunderstorms with most rain evaporating before it reaches the ground, a setup that produces dry lightning strikes.
- Forecasters warned storm outflow winds could gust 40 to 50 mph and that even a few dry lightning strikes could ignite new blazes or make the existing Timber and Plaskett fires spread rapidly.
- The Timber Fire has burned about 19,000 acres and is roughly 21% contained, while the Plaskett Fire is under 200 acres with no containment, and crews planned tactical actions including backburns and local road closures.
- Officials stressed low confidence in exact thunderstorm timing, urged residents to avoid spark-producing activities, be ready to evacuate near wildland edges, and noted past August dry-lightning events have produced large, destructive fires.