Weather service extends Red Flag warning into Tuesday evening for parts of Bay Area

The National Weather Service has extended its Red Flag warning until Tuesday evening in some parts of the Bay Area as high winds and low humidity continue to raise the danger of wildfires.

The weather service’s Red Flag warning was originally scheduled to last through 11 a.m. Monday in much of the Bay Area, including the North Bay mountains, East Bay hills, Santa Cruz mountains and the Peninsula.

The warning will now last through 5 p.m. Tuesday, at least, in the North Bay and East Bay, while for the other affected regions it expired at 11 a.m. as scheduled. The agency’s wind advisory in all affected counties also expired at 11 a.m.

Weather stations recorded wind gusts as high as 89 mph overnight near Mt. Saint Helena. Gusts were also recorded as high as 58 mph at Oakland International Airport and 53 mph at the Napa County Airport.

The high winds led officials with the city of Berkeley and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District over the weekend to urge residents in the highest risk areas to voluntarily evacuate.

In anticipation of the winds and their potential to blow down power lines, PG&E said Sunday it planned to proactively shut off power for roughly 361,000 customers in 36 counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma counties.

During the shutoffs, PG&E is operating community resource facilities for residents who lose power, offering them access to medical equipment and electronic charging stations, WiFi, bottled water and non-perishable food.

Up-to-date information about the power shutoffs can be found at PG&E’s website at pge.com.