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The outlook, weather forecasters say, is for continued fair weather.

Fair?

Fair? What kind of word is that to describe this? This is anything but fair.

How about glorious? Or ridiculous? How about, in other words, grossly unfair.

This is what’s wrong with California.

Elsewhere in the world Wednesday, there were air raids on Iraq, a president on the verge of impeachment and at scattered locations around the globe people digging out from under feet-deep blankets of snow.

But here, the big trouble Wednesday was trying to keep the Christmas trees from spontaneously combusting in the heat.

“It’s not a good Christmas-tree-buying mood,” said Steve Schenewerke, 20, who was selling Douglas, grand and noble firs under a striped tent at Main Street and Garfield Avenue in Huntington Beach. “People don’t want to come out in the Santa Anas.”

In Seal Beach, meanwhile, the hefty guy in the red suit was catching a wave.

The weather and blue skies brought Michael Pless, 48, to the ocean, where he rode the surf in his custom-made Santa wetsuit.

“I started collecting surfing Santas awhile back--cards, statues and Christmas ornaments. But I’d never seen Santa out in the water, and I realized Santa should be in the water,” Pless said. “I consider myself a California Santa.”

This is the second year he has suited up as a surfing Santa. Last year, he wore a regular St. Nick outfit, “and my friends thought I would drown with all that weight.” This year, he ordered a red wet suit, complete with beard and hat.

Across Orange County, unseasonably warm temperatures approached record highs, hovering in the mid-80s and luring residents outdoors to soak up the rays.

New York transplant Christopher Graham, 33, dressed in shorts, was gleefully sunning himself on his front lawn. Since he moved to Huntington Beach eight years ago, he said, he takes every opportunity to remind friends and relatives on the East Coast of his good fortune.

“They hate everything about California--the forest fires and mudslides and earthquakes,” he said. “They don’t realize there’s the sun and bikinis and days like this. I send pictures, gloating every time.”

The rising mercury is being driven by Santa Ana winds and a high-pressure system. Temperatures are likely to remain warm through the weekend but return to normal early next week, said Jeff House of WeatherData, which provides forecasts to The Times.

The relentless wind, blowing occasionally in strong gusts, kept beach crowds small but attracted the surfers, said Huntington Beach lifeguard Lt. Steve Davidson.

“It’s a perfect day for them,” he said. “These offshore winds really kicked up some waves.”

Times staff writer Karima A. Haynes contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Running Hot and Cold

Recent temperatures in Orange County have been rising and falling like a roller coaster. Wednesday’s warmer-than-normal highs replaced Monday’s cooler-than-normal lows. A look at the source of the strange weather:

1. Cold-inducing low pressure moves out

2. High pressure produces warm Santa Ana winds

3. Offshore high pressure raises temperatures

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Top Wind Gusts

Place: MPH

Fremont Canyon: 113

Orange: 41

Huntington Beach: 39

Bell Canyon: 37

Laguna Beach: 35

Santa Ana: 35

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Top Temperatures

City: High

Fullerton: 89

Dana Point: 88

Garden Grove: 88

Laguna Niguel: 87

Orange: 87

Dec. 16 record was in Santa Ana in 1980: 89

Sources: National Weather Service meteorologist Brandt Maxwell; WeatherData; AccuWeather; California Department of Water Resources; KNBC-TV WeatherNet; Pomona First Federal