Monday's Weather Could Be Key for Crews Battling Fire on Palomar Mountain
By Whitney Southwick
Monday may just provide the best chance for firefighters to gain some significant ground on the wildfire that's been burning on Palomar Mountain since Friday.
The Cutca Fire, as it's known, is feeding on acres of dry brush and timber, and, while humidity levels are still quite dry (below 30 percent).
Temperatures also cooled a bit Monday and there were light winds.
The high temperature Monday afternoon should top out around 79, humidity at 28 percent and winds out of the west at around 5 mph with gusts only slightly stronger.
It's a double-edged sword as we head toward the weekend and fire crews know it.
While humidity levels are expected to soar on Wednesday as a new bout of monsoonal moisture flows into the County out of Mexico, the wind and temperature will also pick-up which could speed the spread of the flames and makes fighting the fire even more difficult.
About the only saving grace could be the forecast for possible showers starting Wednesday afternoon.
This too has a down-side however. The chance of rain is only 30% and strong thunderstorms could develop.
While the downpours might be welcome, the lightning strikes which could potentially start additional fires in the back country are not.
Bottom line: firefighters know they need to make some important headway Monday as the weather will play a bigger role in the situation in the coming days.
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