SoCal braces for more prime fire weather

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Southern California were on alert Saturday after weather forecasters said they could expect more blazing-hot temperatures and low humidity.

There were no red-flag warnings in effect at sunrise but breezes were expected to pick up later in the day, adding to the potential for any new wildfires to spread quickly.

The National Weather Service posted fire warnings Saturday in parts of northern California, South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming and Nebraska.

Commuters in Los Angeles sweltered along busy Interstate 405 Friday afternoon while fire crews battled a brush fire that scorched nearly 70 acres near the Getty Center art museum. The fire was 40-percent contained by nightfall and was expected to be fully controlled sometime Saturday, fire officials said.

No structures were reported damaged in the fire but traffic was abysmal. The Los Angeles Times noted some teenagers waited for hours for their parents to pick them up from after-school activities.

One motorist, Norma Samayoa, told the newspaper she thought the streets had been closed because President Barack Obama was back in town for another fundraiser.