The Brief

LOS ANGELES - As Southern California braces for what officials are calling the most intense heat wave of the year, the Governor's Office of Emergency Management has pre-deployed additional firefighting resources due to elevated wildfire danger.

What we know:

Temperatures are expected to spike in Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties from Wednesday to Saturday. Conditions will be hot with strong winds and low humidity, which elevates the possibility of explosive fire behavior.

The National Weather Service issued widespread Extreme Heat and Red Flag warnings, as well as fire watches that go into effect on Wednesday.

"This is abnormal for this time of year," explained FOX 11 Meteorologist Soumada Khan. "This stretch of heat will also extend into

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