Editing Santa Ana winds (section)

=== Wildfires ===
{{main|California wildfires}}

Because they are simultaneously "gusty" and "desiccating", the Santa Ana winds are highly associated with regional wildfire danger.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Null |first=Jan |date=2015-07-04 |title=Weather and Wildland Fires: Firefighting in an Age of Droughts and Urban Sprawl |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00431672.2015.1045368 |journal=Weatherwise |language=en |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=28–33 |doi=10.1080/00431672.2015.1045368 |bibcode=2015Weawi..68d..28N |s2cid=191207829 |issn=0043-1672}}</ref> The winds have been implicated in some of the area's (and even the state's) largest and deadliest [[wildfire]]s.

[[File:Firemen run up Mt. Washington hill to put down wildfire flames in Los Angeles, Calif., 1961 (Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection, UCLA Library).jpg|thumb|Firemen run up [[Mount Washington, Los Angeles|Mt. Washington]] hill to put down wildfire flames in Los Angeles, 1961 (''Los Angeles Times'' Photographic Collection, UCLA Library)]]
Major Santa Ana-fueled fires prior to 2000 included the [[Santiago Canyon Fire]] (1889), [[Bel Air Fire]] (1961),<ref name="Lessard1988">{{Cite journal |last=Lessard |first=Arthur G. |date=April 1988 |title=The Santa Ana Wind of Southern California |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00431672.1988.9925254 |journal=Weatherwise |language=en |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=100–104 |doi=10.1080/00431672.1988.9925254 |bibcode=1988Weawi..41b.100L |issn=0043-1672}}</ref> [[1978 Agoura-Malibu firestorm|Agoura-Malibu firestorm]] (1978), Anaheim Fire (1982),<ref name="Lessard1988" /> [[Laguna Fire]] (1970), [[Laguna Fire (1993)|Laguna Fire]] (1993), and [[Kinneloa Fire]] (1993).

Major Santa Ana-fueled fires from 2000 to 2019 included [[Cedar Fire (2003)|Cedar Fire]] (2003), [[Old Fire]] (2003), [[Esperanza Fire]] (2006), [[October 2007 California wildfires#Witch Creek Fire|Witch Creek Fire]] (2007), [[October 2007 California wildfires]], [[Tea Fire]] (2008), [[Sayre Fire]] (2008), [[Freeway Complex Fire]] (2008), [[May 2014 San Diego County wildfires]], [[December 2017 Southern California wildfires]], and the [[Thomas Fire]] (2018).

Major Santa Ana-fueled fires from 2020 to present include the [[El Dorado Fire]] (2020), [[Bobcat Fire]] (2020), and [[Franklin Fire]] (2024). The Santa Ana winds heavily aggravated a [[January 2025 Southern California wildfires|series of wildfires in January 2025]] including the [[Eaton Fire]] and the [[Palisades Fire]] during an exceptionally strong wind event. These fires burned through over 35,000 acres (14,163 ha)<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=2025-01-12 |title=California wildfires live updates: Death toll rises to 16 as Palisades Fire expands east to Brentwood and Encino |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/california-wildfires-live-updates-rcna187240 |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> and have killed 24 people.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fioresi |first1=Dean |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Matthew |title=Eaton Fire erupts in canyons above Altadena, forcing evacuations - CBS Los Angeles |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/eaton-canyon-altadena-brush-fire-strong-winds/ |access-date=8 January 2025 |work=[[KCAL News]] |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=7 January 2025}}</ref> The winds aggravating the fires reached over {{convert|80|mph}} in some areas,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keeley |first=Jon |date=2025-01-09 |title=How Santa Ana winds fueled the deadly fires in Southern California |url=https://theconversation.com/how-santa-ana-winds-fueled-the-deadly-fires-in-southern-california-246965 |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref> with wind speeds comparable to that of a Category 1 hurricane.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale |url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=U.S. NOAA National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center |language=en-US}}</ref>