Southern California is facing fierce fires fueled by the Santa Ana winds, which threaten homes and put firefighters to the test.

Micah Manalese, a 30-year-old rock climber, died recently after falling at Red Rocks Canyon in Nevada. According to a GoFundMe page, Manalese would frequently train at Sender One Climbing in Santa Ana,

California Governor Gavin Newsom has deployed fire engines, water-dropping aircraft and hand crews across the region—to enable a rapid response if a new fire does break out, according to The Associated Press.

Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.T​housands have been ordered to evacuate in Southern California as the Hughes Fire continues to burn and another fire broke out late Wednesday in Bel Air.

The Santa Anas are expected to be most powerful Monday night into Tuesday. Fire services across the region say they are ready.

Critical fire conditions are expected to continue through Friday. But rain could be on the way this weekend. Here's what to know.

The Santa Ana winds are dry, powerful winds that blow down the mountains toward the Southern California coast. The region sees about 10 Santa Ana wind events a year on average, typically occurring from fall into January. When conditions are dry, as they are right now, these winds can become a severe fire hazard.

Things will remain relatively calm for the weekend, but "a difficult to resolve weather pattern" begins early to mid-next week, the NWS said.

Santa Ana winds return to Southern California from Monday to Tuesday, once again raising fire danger concerns.

Extreme conditions helped drive the fast-moving fires that destroyed thousands of homes in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

Climate change made ferocious LA wildfires more likely: study Human-driven climate change set the stage for the devastating Los Angeles wildfires by reducing rainfall, parching vegetation, and extending the dangerous overlap between flammable drought conditions and powerful Santa Ana winds,

With declining enrollment, Santa Ana Unified school board members are the latest public education leaders considering mass layoffs.