Firefighters Prep for Santa Ana Winds

Los Angeles (myFOXla.com) - Firefighters battling the stubborn Station wildfire in the Angeles National Forest are anticipating possible problems today as temperatures rise and Santa Ana winds move in.

The estimated containment date of the biggest wildfire in Los Angeles County's modern history was set for Tuesday -- after being initially set for Sept. 15 and being thrice postponed -- but that could change if winds and renewed high heat cause to blaze to flare up.

Forecasters are predicting winds from the northeast up to 20 to 30 mph in the mountain passes and canyons this evening, with gusts up to 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Triple-digit temperatures and low humidity are expected in some inland areas, including the San Fernando Valley, according to the NWS.

A red flag warning indicating a high risk of wildfire will be in effect in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

In such mountain areas as the San Gabriels, where the monthlong Station Fire has been raging, the warning will go into effect at midnight tonight. Everywhere else, it will take effect early Tuesday.

The fire, which is 94 percent contained, has scorched 160,557 acres -- about 250 square miles -- since being intentionally set by an unknown arsonist Aug. 26, and has cost more than $83 million to fight thus far, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Two firefighters died in the fire's initial advance, when the vehicle they were in went over a cliff. There have been no arrests or named suspects in what was an arson, and is now a murder investigation.

At the fire's peak, 6,200 houses along the mountain range's edge from Pacoima to Pasadena were threatened with loss to fire.

In the end, more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed in the blaze, most of them within the Angeles National Forest boundaries. Forty-eight commercial properties, 116 sheds or outbuildings, and 146 vehicles burned, the Forest Service reported.