Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday warned against a possible new round of blazes in fire-ravaged Southern California.
He said the expected return of offshore winds would ignite wildfires again.
The governor directed state agencies and the National Guard to be prepared for any possible new blazes.
"We're not out of the danger zone yet," he said at a news conference following a meeting in downtown Los Angeles with the California Association of Governments to discuss the state's response to the raft of wildfires that began swallowing acreage and homes on Oct. 20.
"We still have four fires (burning) ... and are watching the weather very closely," Schwarzenegger said.
The governor said there are aircraft in place if the winds pickup Friday night as expected, and emergency staff have been pre-positioned in areas with a high risk of fire based on winds projected through the weekend.
Stuart Seto, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said the winds won't be as constant or fierce as the Santa Ana winds that spread the wildfires last week. But they will reach speeds of 20-30 miles per hour in the mountain passes and canyons, with gusts to 40 miles per hour.
The strongest winds will occur Saturday between 6 a.m. and noon, according to forecasters, who said relative humidity will decrease to around 10 percent before midday and the winds will lessen late in the day.
Coupled with expected continued lower humidity through Wednesday, the weather conditions could warrant a Red Flag Warning, Seto said.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has 16 air tankers ready to be deployed, said Ruben Grijalva, the agency's director.
The aircraft are positioned in San Diego and other areas, he said.
Grijalva said there are now five aviation managers, also referred to as spotters, ready to fill the staffing numbers required to use military helicopters to fight fires.
"We can use one aviation manager per three helicopters, which means we can have 15 (military) helicopters (if needed)," he said.
Californian fire officials were criticized at the start of the wildfires for not using military helicopters to supplement local choppers already fighting the fires.
Firefighters are still working to fully surround four blazes: the Witch fire in San Diego, which is 99 percent contained; the Poomacha fire in northern San Diego County, 70 percent contained; the Slide fire in San Bernardino County, 97 percent contained; and the Santiago fire in Orange County, 80 percent contained.
Source: Xinhua
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