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,

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.

The fire erupted during extreme Santa Ana winds. The National Weather Service issued "a particularly dangerous" red-flag warning for much of the local area for the second time in a little over a month. Those are triggered during extreme conditions, ones that can cause fires to ignite easily and spread quickly, officials said.