Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, a series of ferocious wildfires erupted the second week of January and roared across the Los Angeles area.

At least 28 people have died as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, rage across Southern California.Thousands of firefighters have been battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County.

Southern California will continue to face "dangerous fire weather conditions" including strong Santa Ana winds and extremely low humidity through later this week, forecasters said Tuesday.

A particularly dangerous situation red flag warning is in place from noon Monday to 10 a.m. Tuesday local time for a large portion of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

The Hughes Fire has spread over 5,054 acres after starting just before lunchtime in Los Angeles County's Castaic Lake area on Wednesday.

Firefighters are battling to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly-moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles.

The Palisades and Eaton wildfires continue burning in the Los Angeles area that left parts of Southern California with devastating fire damage.

Evacuations were ordered on Wednesday for remote communities near a new wind-driven wildfire in mountains north of Los Angeles, as Southern California endured more dangerous winds ahead of possible rain over the weekend.

In 2018, Montecito, a town 80 miles (130 kilometers) up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes burned bare by a huge wildfire. Twenty-three people died, and hundreds of homes were damaged.

The Hughes fire, which broke out north of Santa Clarita earlier Wednesday, has scorched more than 5,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.