LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Thursday fire officials warned that more heavy winds are on the way this weekend while at the same time the National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for Lake and neighboring counties.

The fire weather watch will go into effect at 12 a.m. Saturday and remain in effect until noon on Sunday, when the National Weather Service said the strongest winds are expected to occur.

The strongest winds are expected will be across exposed ridges and through wind-aligned drainages, the agency said.

Winds around the region are forecast to have northeast winds from 15 to 30 miles per hour, with local gusts of between 35 to 45 miles per hour, based on the forecast.

Those winds, combined with low relative humidity that is drying out vegetation, are concerns for fire officials.

Capt. Steve Kaufmann of the Ventura County Fire Department is a member of Cal Fire’s Incident Management Team 4, which is managing the Sulphur fire as part of the Mendocino Lake Complex – which includes the fires in Potter and Redwood valleys.

Kaufmann gave community members an update on conditions at a Thursday night meeting in Clearlake.

He said a “significant wind event” is expected to arrive on Friday.

The forecast calls for winds that aren’t quite as strong as those the region experienced on Sunday and Monday, he said.

However, he said it would take just one small ember to get out of the fire lines “and we’re off to the races again.”

He added, “I do want you to understand that we are still not out of danger,” he said.

The county forecast expects north northeast winds of up to 8 miles per hour on Friday and up to 13 miles per hour during the day on Saturday in the Sulphur fire area.

In southern Lake County, winds are expected to range up to 10 miles per hour during the day on Friday, rising to about 16 miles per hour at night, with nighttime gusts of up to 23 miles per hour.

On Saturday, the forecast calls for daytime conditions with winds of up to 17 miles per hour and 24-mile-per-hour gusts. The forecast calls for wind conditions to taper off to about 9 miles per hour on Saturday night.

Temperatures over the next several days around the county look to be in the normal fall range, from the high 40s at night and the high 70s during the day, the forecast said.

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