Unsettled Weather This Week Could Help And Hinder Firefighting Efforts

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The Sacramento region will have cooler, unsettled weather for the next few days, which is a good news/bad news situation.

The delta breeze is back today, with southwest winds 10-20 mph, but gusting to 30 mph. Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant says the gusty winds are a definite concern for firefighters, but cooler temperatures, higher humidity levels, and sprinkles tend to help with fire suppression.

High temperatures will fall from around 80 degrees Monday to upper-70s Tuesday, to low-70s Wednesday (10+ degrees below normal).

While the valley will only see sprinkles on Monday and Tuesday, it appears more organized rain showers will fall Monday night in the foothills and mountains – including in the Butte Fire area where .10 inches of rain could fall.

A stronger system arrives Wednesday, with a higher chance of rain area-wide. We may see the first high-elevation snow in the Sierra.

The extreme drought conditions and dry vegetation have caused the Butte and Valley fires to not respond to the weather conditions the way firefighters expect, says Berlant. He said there was cloud cover and higher humidity Saturday night, which should have helped efforts, but the Valley fire exploded as if it was being fueled by dry, 70 mph Santa Ana winds, rather than gusts of only 15-20 mph.

Berlant says this fire is behaving in a way that crews have never seen before.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported 10 inches of rain could fall in the Butte Fire area.