A rare Particularly Dangerous Situation warning has been issued for Southern California as a powerful and potentially damaging Santa Ana wind event​ is expected.

The Hughes Fire near Castaic, California, has burned over 5,000 acres, prompting evacuations and school closures.

The Santa Anas are expected to be most powerful Monday night into Tuesday. Fire services across the region say they are ready.

The Santa Ana winds are dry, powerful winds that blow down the mountains toward the Southern California coast. The region sees about 10 Santa Ana wind events a year on average, typically occurring from fall into January. When conditions are dry, as they are right now, these winds can become a severe fire hazard.

This process is what is thermodynamically known as katabatic wind, but in the specific case of Southern California is referred to as the Santa Ana winds. As the air descends the Transverse Ranges ...

The winds fueling Southern California wildfires form when a high-pressure system develops over the Great Basin in Utah and Nevada

California’s wildfire crisis is as much a social and political problem as it is an ecological one. The expansion of housing into fire-prone areas reflects a dangerous intersection of urgent needs and misplaced priorities: a bid to address the state’s housing shortage,

The fire was reported around 2:20 p.m. Thursday in the Otay Mountains of San Diego's South Bay near the border.

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

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.

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