SANTA CRUZ >> Local fire officials are on high alert with forecasters predicting that high winds will soon sweep over a dangerously arid landscape in the Santa Cruz Mountains and across Santa Cruz County.

A red flag warning, meaning critical fire weather conditions are likely imminent, has been issued by the National Weather Service and will be in effect from 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 p.m. Saturday for areas across the Central Coast, including all of Santa Cruz County.

Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the weather service, said Wednesday that gusts could exceed 50 mph at the tallest mountain peaks with wind speeds expected to regularly fluctuate from 30 mph to 35 mph. This, combined with a relative humidity as low as 10%, makes for a dangerous recipe, said Murdock.

“When we consider red flag warnings, we consider how windy it is and how dry it is,” Murdock said. “We’re hitting both of those points pretty strongly with this event.”

Weather forecasters and fire officials aren’t the only ones taking precautions. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Wednesday that it has included 132 customers in Santa Cruz County within the scope of a potential power safety shutoff due to high fire risk conditions. Other areas that may experience preemptive shutoffs include communities in the South Bay, North Bay, East Bay and Sierra Nevada.

Still, according to a release from the utility provider, real-time weather conditions will determine the necessity and final scope of any temporary shutoff and customers can monitor their status at pge.com/pspsupdates. Customers within the potential outage zone have already been notified, a PG&E spokesperson said.

Jason Hoppin, a spokesperson for Santa Cruz County, said emergency planners have been in touch with PG&E about the possible shutdown. He specified that as of Wednesday, it could impact customers on the backside of Soquel Demonstration State Forest, along Highland Way between Spanish Ranch Road and Eureka Canyon Road. If it happens, the shutoff is likely to last less than 24 hours, he said.

“Please avoid creating any fire risk,” added Hoppin. “We want to be extra cautious for these next couple days.”

Santa Cruz County — and high-risk mountain regions especially — are coming off of a hot, dry summer and early fall. October began with a lengthy heat wave that engulfed the county and brought triple-digit-temperatures to areas across the San Lorenzo Valley. These conditions have left the county and its densely wooded and grassy areas vulnerable to fire, where even the smallest spark, aided by a swift breeze, could grow into a potential disaster.

Murdock explained that while low-lying regions draw some moisture benefits from the coastal fog, mountainous regions had less cloud cover this year, which has led to some areas drying out sooner than normal.

“Do anything you can to avoid starting a fire,” said Murdock. “We’ll wind up getting out of the wind criteria for the red flag warning over the weekend, but it’s still going to be pretty dry. So we want people to still stay fire-weather aware going into next week.”

Jed Wilson, chief of Cal Fire’s Santa Cruz-San Mateo unit, said staffing levels within five local Cal Fire locations will be increased so that conditions can be seamlessly monitored 24 hours per day as the winds barrel through. His team will also preemptively place multiple reserve engines along high-risk wooded ridge lines that could be in danger if a spark gets loose.

“Anytime they’re predicting gusts 30 to 50 mph as common … that provides potential for extreme fire growth,” said Wilson, noting that neighboring fire agencies are staffing up as well. “So we take it extremely seriously, especially in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which historically are known for fires in October, November prior to a significant amount of rain.”

Even before this upcoming wind event popped onto the radar, local fire crews have dealt with a steady stream of ignitions in recent weeks that have all been contained with relatively little spread or damage. Saturday, Cal Fire’s CZU unit pounced on a reported fire off of Hartman Creek Road within the Deer Creek watershed after it spread from an unauthorized burn barrel into 4,400 square feet of nearby forestland.

In response to the weekend blaze, Hartman Creek Road property owner Lea Taylor Babcock pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a felony crime of recklessly causing a fire of a structure or forest. The alleged crime carries a maximum sentence of up to three years in county jail.

Babcock, who was out of custody this week, was scheduled to appear before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Siegel on Dec. 4 to set a preliminary hearing date.

The Sentinel’s Jessica A. York contributed to this story.