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

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.

Forecasters say weaker winds will hit on Saturday night and Sunday, and that there will be no relief until the county gets rain.

A critical fire threat will continue across County as Santa Ana winds and dry conditions persist through early Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

With the strongest of the winds in the inland valleys and mountains of San Diego County on Monday night through Tuesday morning, the highest wind gusts of 102 mph were recorded in Sill Hill, near Julian. This is a typical wind-prone area in the mountains known for exceptionally high wind gusts, offshore and onshore.

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.

Scores of residents were urged to flee as fast-moving fires hurtled through bone-dry brush in Bonsall and Mission Valley Tuesday

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

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.

SDG&E crews are restoring power to areas of rural San Diego County today as blustery Santa Ana winds continued throughout SoCal.

The number of San Diego Gas & Electric customers impacted by the recent round of public safety power shutoffs grew to at least 19,000, according to map data as of Thursday afternoon.