In the north state, high winds are expected to whip through the weekend, prompting officials to warn that fire danger is elevated.
A strong cold front will continue to exert its influence on Northern California with dry winds ranging from 16 to 22 mph today in the Sacramento area, significantly increasing the danger of wildfires.
The National Weather Service reports that gusts could hit as high as 33 mph.
Today's high temperatures should be near 70 degrees and the lows in the lower 40s.
On Sunday, winds should abate and high temperatures will be 74 degrees. On Monday, Sacramento's high temperatures will return to normal, warming into the 80s.
The dry north wind raises the danger of a devastating fire this weekend in Northern California and has prompted the state to increase its firefighting presence.
Daniel Berlant, information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Northern California is under a "red flag warning" because of high winds and low humidity.
"North winds are dry and increase fire danger," Berlant said. "In the north part of the state, most of our large and devastating fires are caused by north winds. So in response, we have put more firefighters on duty so that if a new fire does start, we will have a lot of resources to jump on that fire quickly."
He said vegetation is tinder-dry, and the little rain that Northern California has received has not alleviated fire dangers.
"Many people become complacent, thinking that just a little rain helps," Berlant said. "But a day of north winds lowers the moisture level in the brush, increasing fire danger."
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.