FIRE OFFICIALS ON HIGH ALERT EXTRA CREWS ASSIGNED TO ANGELES FOREST.

Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - High winds and low humidity levels led to a red-flag fire warning Thursday in the forest areas between the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, prompting increased fire-crew support in the area, authorities said.

Predicting wind gusts as high as 50 mph beginning Thursday morning and lasting through the afternoon, the National Weather Service issued the warning Wednesday for mountainous areas in Los Angeles County.

The strong northeast winds combined with humidity levels as low as 8 percent are a recipe for disaster should a fire ignite in dry brush parched from five years of drought.

``A fire under those conditions could be extremely fast-moving,'' said Capt. Mark Savage of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. ``In the height of the brush (fire) season, we monitor the wind and weather very closely and then make staffing adjustments based on those conditions.''

Fire Department officials assigned 14 additional fire patrols to the most at-risk areas for 12 hours Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. A fire patrol truck is staffed by one person and is equipped with water and a fire hose.

The department also ordered eight additional water tenders staffed, focusing largely on the San Gabriel Valley foothills and the areas surrounding the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, Savage said.

An engine strike team - five engines and a battalion chief - was reassigned to the Santa Clarita Valley, specifically Station 126 in Valencia, which is also headquarters for Battalion 6 of the county Fire Department.

In July, the Pine, Foothill and Crown fires scorched an estimated 34,000 acres in and around the Angeles National Forest in northern Los Angeles County. Officials said those blazes were largely wind-driven and consumed several thousand acres within a matter of hours.

Fire danger levels in the Angeles National Forest have been extreme since late September, resulting in the closure of about 90 percent of the forest. Not only were officials worried campfires or other activity could trigger a fire, they didn't want to worry about hikers, campers, hunters and others trapped in the forest should fire break out.

Fuel moisture levels - fire fuel includes brush, vegetation and trees - have hit record lows in recent weeks, according to the statement released Wednesday by the U.S. Forest Service. The triple threat of high winds, low humidity and moisture-deprived fuels prompted Angeles National Forest crews to fan out at specific posts to watch for sparks, smoke or anything that could indicate fire.

``Until we get significant rains, these warnings are going to be weather-driven,'' Savage said. ``Until we get rain, (these warnings) aren't going to change because the Santa Anas (winds) are starting up.''

Amy Raisin Darvish, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com

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Fire officials have posted extra crews and equipment around the Angeles National Forest because of the high fire danger.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer