Power to tens of thousands of people had been shut off by Monday night as utilities worked to mitigate the impacts of Southern California’s notorious Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts could damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.

Southern California is bracing for another round of strong, potentially dangerous Santa Ana winds just over a month after a similar wind event helped fuel the Mountain Fire, which scorched nearly 20,000 acres in Ventura County and sent residents scrambling for safety as flames closed in.

San Diego County edged closer to drought Tuesday, whipped by fierce and damaging Santa Ana winds that further dried out a region that hasn’t gotten a long, deep soaking of rain since March.

Southern California's notorious Santa Ana winds were predicted to return Monday night and utilities said they are prepared to cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers in areas where strong gusts could damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.

Red flag warnings are in place for Southern California due to Santa Ana winds that will bring gusts up to 65 mph and “extremely rare and dangerous” fire weather conditions.

Dangerous fire weather conditions will persist for one more day across Southern California as strong Santa Ana winds and very dry air continue to affect the region. Although the winds won't be quite as powerful as they were on Tuesday,

Parts of Southern California are still facing "elevated to brief "critical conditions" into Thursday night as a fast-moving wildfire that forced thousands in Malibu to evacuate continues to grow.Threat level: Red Flag warnings ended as powerful Santa Ana winds eased on Wednesday afternoon,

As weather improved in Southern California, firefighters found some success Wednesday battling a wind-driven blaze burning in steep, nearly inaccessible areas that forced