Over 1,100 firefighters were “strategically pre-positioned” across Southern California to address "ongoing critical fire weather," Cal Fire said.

The National Weather Service has extended a Red Flag Warning until Friday morning for San Diego County's inland valleys and mountains.

An uptick in Santa Ana winds Wednesday afternoon through Thursday, combined with critically dry vegetation and low humidity, will result in elevated to locally critical fire weather conditions in County through late Thursday.

Santa Ana winds finally delivered a big, direct hit on San Diego County Tuesday, gusting as high as 102 mph in the backcountry where a touch of long-overdue rain could arrive this weekend.

Red flag warnings are in effect until Thursday for parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego because of low humidity and relentless Santa Ana winds.

San Diego County expects rain and mountain snow after severe Santa Ana winds and wildfires across Southern California, marking a hopeful turn in a dry water year.

Wildfires in Southern California prompt evacuations and school closures as Santa Ana winds exacerbate conditions. Communities remain on high alert.- Watch Video on English Oneindia

Hours before they were expected to fade away, powerful Santa Ana winds swept San Diego County from the mountains to the sea Thursday, stoking new wildfires — one near UC San Diego, the other on Otay Mountain near the U.

"A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly," the NWS said.

The Palisades and Eaton wildfires continue burning in the Los Angeles area, leaving parts of Southern California with devastating fire damage.

Thousands of firefighters have been battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. The two largest fires, the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, remain active. One of the latest, the Hughes Fire in the Castaic area, has prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people.