Strong Santa Ana winds threaten Southern California with 'highest possible' fire danger

LOS ANGELES - Another round of potentially damaging Santa Ana winds will batter much of Southern California into the middle of the week, combining with low humidity to create dangerous wildfire conditions.

The Santa Ana winds could bring gusts up to 80 mph to parts of the region, prompting a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" (PDS) Fire Weather Warning for much of the Santa Ana wind corridor of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Tuesday. The PDS Warning extends through Wednesday for the Susana Mountains. Farther south, San Diego County is also under a Fire Weather Warning.

RELATED: Franklin Fire: Malibu blaze near Pepperdine closes PCH, prompts evacuations and school closures

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center forecasted "extreme" fire weather conditions for Tuesday in places like Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, and Santa Paula along the Southern California coast.

Those areas, along with the eastern San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and the 5 Freeway corridor, were under a red flag warning until 6 p.m. Wednesday but with winds decreasing, that warning expired around 1:30 p.m. 

The Los Angeles County Fire Department issued a statement saying the agency has "implemented its augmented staffing plan by ordering additional staffing and pre-deployment of ground and aerial resources throughout the county."

This comes as the Franklin Fire burning in Malibu has scorched over 2,000 acres, forcing evacuations.

As is typical during red flag conditions, Southern California Edison advised thousands of customers that they could be subject to power cuts designed to prevent electrical equipment from sparking wildfires during threatening winds.

Santa Ana winds blow from the Santa Ana Mountains in Southern California, bringing in hot, dry air from east of the mountains. They can occur at any time of year but are more common during cooler weather from fall through winter.