LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for southern Lake County late this week due to windy, warm and low-humidity conditions in the forecast.

The watch will be in effect from 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, through 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19. It was issued for fire weather zone 264, which covers much of the lower two-thirds of the county’s geography.

A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur, the National Weather Service reported.

Forecasters said the watch is due to the potential for gusty northerly winds of between 15 to 25 miles per hour, with gusts up to 45 miles per hour expected over the ridges and higher elevations.

At the same time, humidity is expected to drop as low as 15% during the day and 40% at night.

Such conditions can cause any fires that occur to develop rapidly, the agency said.

While a fire weather watch will be in effect, the overall forecast calls for cooler conditions, with daytime temperatures from Thursday through Saturday ranging into the low 80s, with nighttime lows dropping into the high 30s during that time.

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