Santa Ana winds are set to hit the Los Angeles area again this week, posing a significant risk of rapid fire spread as the region continues to battle deadly wildfires that started under similar conditions earlier this month.

A Maximum Danger Alert, or Particularly Hazardous Conditions Alert, is in place for much of Ventura and Los Angeles counties from noon local time Monday (3 p.m. ET) to 10 a.m. Tuesday (1 p.m. ET).

A Special Hazardous Condition Warning is rarely used and warns of the extreme danger of fire spread due to dry conditions and low humidity. This is the fifth release in just three months since November. The National Weather Service typically issues a PDS red flag warning only once every four years. Prior to its release in November 2024, the last release was in 2020.

The event is expected to bring peak wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph along the coast and valleys, and 60 to 100 mph in the mountains and foothills.

The area of ​​greatest concern stretches from Ventura County to Malibu on the west coast, through the San Fernando Valley and to Big Pine and Pomona in the east.

Very strong Santa Ana winds — dry, warm and gusty winds that blow from inland Southern California toward the coast — will develop Monday and last through at least Tuesday. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service's Los Angeles office warned that humidity levels will "drop significantly into the single digits."

High winds, low humidity and extremely dry vegetation will create "extremely severe fire weather conditions" that will spread quickly once a fire breaks out.

A red flag warning is in effect due to strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity at all other times in the same area between 8 a.m. Monday and 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The warning covers the Santa Clarita Valley, Ventura County beaches, the interior coast, the Central Valley; the Malibu Coast, the mountains west of Santa Monica, Calabasas and Agoura Hills, the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Susana Mountains, and the San Gable Mountains and Valleys.

A fire weather watch remains in effect Tuesday night into Thursday night due to gusty Santa Ana winds and very low relative humidity across large swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The weather service encourages locals to make an evacuation plan, pack essentials into an emergency kit, charge necessary electronics and lighting, fill up car and generator gas tanks, and secure any loose outdoor items.

Wind gusts for this event are expected to be smaller than those that hit the area earlier this month, causing the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire on Jan. 7.

The 23,713-acre Palisades Fire has destroyed more than 12,000 structures and was 56% contained as of Monday.

Meanwhile, to the east, the Eaton Fire has leveled 14,021 acres and destroyed more than 9,000 structures in Eaton Canyon, Pasadena and Altadena and was 81% contained as of Monday morning.

The fires killed at least 27 people, triggered mass evacuations, shrouded the Los Angeles area in smoke and poor air quality, and sparked criticism of government preparedness.

On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he would mobilize and pre-position more than 130 fire trucks, water trucks and aircraft to Southern California due to the weather warning.

"The recent fire storm in Los Angeles illustrates the importance of being in the right place at the right time. By strategically placing professionals and equipment in wildfire-prone areas, crews are able to respond faster and more aggressively. These conditions are dangerous, so all families have a responsibility to remain vigilant," Newsom said in a statement.

The governor's office said that while thousands of personnel and equipment are still responding to fires in the Los Angeles area, the state is significantly increasing resources.