Southland warm spell is forecast to wane soon

The region's heat wave is expected to pose fire and health risks till Wednesday.

- BY GRACE TOOHEY

TWO SISTERS stay cool Monday at Gloria Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles.

Southern California's prolonged heat wave is finally forecast to begin letting up Wednesday, but elevated temperatures will continue to bring health and fire risks Tuesday.

A cooling trend is expected to slowly fall into place Wednesday after a week of scorching temperatures that baked the South-land's interior and fueled several fast-growing wildfires.

“Wednesday will be a little cooler and then we'll see a cooling trend into Thursday ... and the weekend,” said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “We're looking at relatively cool temperatures into next week.”

Although the cooldown is forecast to drop temperatures 10 to 15 degrees from peak highs, Lewis said temperatures will remain warm probably through at least September.