Since Jan. 8, one wave after another of fierce Santa Anas have blown through Southern California. Thus far, the San Diego area has escaped the devastation seen in the Los Angeles areas by wind-whipped blazes that leveled homes and forced evacuations.

Strong winds fueled fires across Santa Ana in California. Dramatic footage shows a plume of smoke rising from a hillside, with strong winds swaying trees in the foreground on3. Reports indicated the large vegetation fire started Thursday afternoon on a hilltop near the US-Mexico border.

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.

Much of inland San Diego County was whipped yet again by a strong Santa Ana wind event Monday into Tuesday, contributing to risky fire conditions as the region remains bone-dry.

San Diego County remains under the grip of another round of moderate to strong Santa Ana winds, paired with extremely dry air, elevating critical fire weather concerns.

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.

Santa Ana winds continue to ravage Southern California, posing critical fire concerns across the region. The extremely gusty winds have instigated new fires, known as the Hughes and Sepulveda fires, which have rapidly spread near Los Angeles.

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.