There is an elevated risk of wildfire ignition into the end of the week over Southern California.
The combination of heat, dry air and locally gusty winds will create ideal conditions for the rapid spread of wildfires, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Jordan Root.
"An area of high pressure over the interior western United States will create an offshore flow of air over Southern California," Root said.
A high pressure area is a clockwise flow of sinking, dry air. When air descends through the atmosphere, it becomes compressed and heats up, like the piston of an automobile engine.
"As the air descends from the mountains, through the canyons and toward the coast additional warming will occur," Root said.
High temperatures will be in the 80s to near 90 F at the beaches and well into the 90s across the Inland Empire.
A fire broke out and spread aggressively in the Corona-Anaheim area of California on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Approximately 1,500 people were forced to flee as the Canyon Fire, as it has been named, spread through steep terrain in the Santa Ana Mountains.
As of early Tuesday morning, the blaze had consumed more than 2,500 acres, destroyed several structures and was only five percent contained, according to Cal Fire.
There are more than 150 active wildfires in the western U.S. and approximately 30 active wildfires in California alone, according to Inciweb.
Conditions for fighting the blazes should improve in California at the end of the week and into the weekend, Root stated.
"Winds will lighten up, and humidity levels will rise a bit with a light flow from the ocean," Root said.
"It will still be warm, but temperatures will be a bit lower than much of this week."
Highs will range from the upper 70s right on the coast to the middle 80s across the interior this weekend.
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