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Heat Wave Continues To Scorch SoCal Through The Weekend

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — A heat advisory was in effect Friday for the Valleys and Basin as sweltering temperatures and Santa Ana winds make for extreme fire danger in the region.

The advisory will remain in effect through Sunday and prompted the Los Angeles Unified School District to cancel all outdoor activities, expect for football games, for schools in the San Fernando Valley.

KCAL9's Michele Gile spoke with residents as they tried to cool off near the shoreline.

Temperatures could top 100 in the valleys and lower mountain areas into Sunday.

Forecasters said the heat stemmed from a ridge of high pressure building over the region. It was not expected to begin breaking down until Sunday.

New highs were set Thursday in Long Beach, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, where temperatures hit the mid- to high 90s, the National Weather Service reported.

The average high temperature in downtown Los Angeles in October is 79 degrees. It hit 96 Thursday.

The National Weather Service has issued red-flag warnings of fire danger through Friday evening for some areas because of heat, low humidity and Santa Ana winds gusting to 20 mph.

Of great concern to firefighters and residents alike is the relative humidity value, which was down to 7.0 percent, indicating bone-dry conditions, according to CBS2/KCAL9 weather caster Kaj Goldberg.

The Los Angeles Fire Department placed additional firefighting resources in brush areas Thursday. The deployment was anticipated to last 24 hours but would be re-evaluated depending on weather conditions, the department said.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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