Sundowners are particularly dangerous during wildfire season because the air heats and dries as it descends from the mountains to the sea . Gale force hot , dry winds can make firefighting impossible . A sundowner quickly burned a swath from the mountains through populated areas and across Highway 101 into Hope Ranch during the 1990 Painted Cave Fire . The most intense periods of the Jesusita Fire 's destruction have also been blamed on sundowner winds . The Sherpa Fire grew to overnight due to the sundowner winds , destroying the water system for El Capitán State Beach at the beginning of the 2016 fire season
Jesusita Fire
Jesusita Fire
Sundowner winds