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.

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.

Just a few years after the ozone hole was detected via satellite, the industrialized nations of the world, meeting in Montreal in 1987, adopted what is known as the Montreal Protocol.

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

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.

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

Not only do these winds accelerate the speed and spread of the fires, they also affect how the fires are fought. The strong winds can make it dangerous to fly aircraft used for containing the fires.

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

Another moderate to strong Santa Ana wind event is expected to develop across Southern California during the first half of the workweek, heightening wildfire dangers in a region still coping with the last significant firestorm from nearly two weeks ago.

As Southern California's firefighters gain ground on the Palisades and Eaton fires, the region is on high alert due to an upcoming Santa Ana wind event, anticipated to be one of the most severe this season with extremely dry conditions.

National Weather Service offices across Southern California are warning residents of an increase in weather conditions that are conducive to rapid fire growth. Meteorologists are most concerned about conditions from Monday afternoon through Wednesday morning when winds will be at their peak and relative humidity will be low.

A rare Particularly Dangerous Situation warning has been issued for Southern California as a powerful and potentially damaging Santa Ana wind event​ is expected.