Forecasters warned Southern California could see a “life-threatening, destructive” windstorm this week, as powerful gusts and dropped humidity levels raise the risk for wildfires in parched areas still recovering from a recent destructive blaze.
Gusts could reach 80 mph (129 kph) across much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as winds intensify Tuesday into Wednesday, the National Weather Service said Monday. Isolated gusts could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills.
“Scattered downed trees and power outages are likely, in addition to rapid fire growth and extreme behavior with any fire starts,” the weather service office for Los Angeles said on X. “Areas not typically windy will be impacted.”
The weather service warned of downed trees, knocked over big rigs and motorhomes, dangerous conditions off the coasts of LA and Orange County, and potential delays at local airports. Public safety power shutoffs are being considered for nearly 300,000 customers across region, according to Southern California Edison's website.
Areas where gusts blowing across tinder-dry vegetation could create "extreme fire conditions” include the charred footprint of last month's wind-driven Franklin Fire, which damaged or destroyed 48 structures, mostly homes, in and around Malibu.
The blaze was one of nearly 8,000 wildfires that scorched more than 1 million acres (more than 404,600 hectares) in the Golden State last year.
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there's been very little rain so far this season. Meanwhile, up north, there have been multiple drenching storms.
The “extreme precipitation disparity” between the northern and southern parts of the state is expected to persist throughout the winter, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
The Northern California weather systems “have been relatively warm storms, too, maintaining overall warmer than average temperatures across nearly all of California in recent weeks,” Swain wrote Saturday in an update on his website.
Southern California hasn't seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May. Much of the region has fallen into moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The upcoming winds will act as an “atmospheric blow dryer” for vegetation, bringing a long period of fire risk that could extend into the more populated lower hills and valleys, Swain said during a Monday livestream.
Portions of San Diego County have seen the driest start to the season — and driest nine-month period overall — in over 150 years, Swain wrote.
FILE - Flags fly under heavy winds before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine are due to hold their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expect them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than 3-year war.
A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was due to meet with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
The latest push to end the fighting got off to a rocky start on Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face. Delegations from the two countries also flew to different Turkish cities and put together teams of significantly different diplomatic heft for possible talks.
Although expectations for a possible Putin-Zelenskyy meeting were low, the apparent lack of traction in peace efforts frustrated hopes of bold steps being taken in Turkey toward reaching a settlement.
The two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war, and U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday during a trip to the Middle East that a meeting between himself and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
On Friday, Trump said a meeting with Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Ukraine has accepted a U.S. and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Meantime, Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.
Russia’s invasion has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the U.N. says, and razed towns and villages. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died, and likely a larger number of Russian troops, officials and analysts say.
A Friday morning drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk killed a 55-year-old woman and wounded four men, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said. All the victims worked for a municipal utility.
After Putin didn’t take up Zelenskyy’s challenge to sit down with him in the Turkish capital on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level negotiating team that he described as “a theater prop.”
Even so, Zelenskyy said that he was sending a team headed by his defense minister to Friday’s meeting in Istanbul. That would show Trump that Ukraine is determined to press ahead with peace efforts despite Russian foot-dragging, Zelenskyy said, amid intense diplomatic maneuvering by Kyiv and Moscow.
The Russian delegation also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks.
A flurry of diplomatic activity took place in Istanbul before the talks.
Ukrainian officials held an early-morning meeting with national security advisers from the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom to coordinate positions, a senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The U.S. team was led by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, while Umerov and presidential office chief Andriy Yermak represented Ukraine, the official said.
A three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Ukraine also took place, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said. The U.S. side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Kellogg.
Rubio on Thursday said he didn't foresee major developments in Istanbul.
“We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,” Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey.
Zelenskyy, meantime, flew to Albania to attend a meeting Friday of the leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.
Aamer Madhani in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, servicemen prepare the drone "Kazhan" that delivers supply and carry heavy bombs, on the front line near Chasiv Yar town, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
Vehicles begin arriving outside a gate prior to expected talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
Vehicles begin arriving outside a gate prior to expected talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
