CNN
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Southern California is bracing for another round of strong, potentially dangerous Santa Ana winds, just over a month after a similar wind event helped fuel the mountain fire that scorched nearly 20,000 acres in Ventura County and sent residents scrambling for safety .

More than 10 million people across the region will be under a red flag warning Monday through Wednesday, including a “Potentially Hazardous Situation” red flag warning for the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, the Santa Clarita Valley, the coasts and valleys of Ventura County and the western San Fernando Gorge. It starts on Monday at 10 p.m. and lasts until Tuesday afternoon.

A potentially hazardous situation warning has also been issued for the Santa Susana Mountains until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph and humidity between 5% and 15% are expected along the coasts, valleys and mountains of the wind-prone Santa Ana corridor.

These potentially dangerous situations are rarely issued and are reserved for the most extreme events; However, climate change is increasing the frequency of these events. Last month, similar winds in Santa Ana helped the Mountain Fire explode in size and sweep through neighborhoods, prompting evacuations and school closures.

Fallen trees and power outages are expected due to this week’s winds. Combined with very dry vegetation, new sparks created by downed power lines could quickly develop into large and potentially life-threatening forest fires.

The timing of this Santa Ana wind event is similar to the Thomas Fire, which burned over 280,000 acres from December 2017 to January 2018 and is the ninth largest wildfire in California history. According to CalFire, the Thomas Fire was caused by downed power lines.

“The hardest hit areas will likely be the San Gabriels, Santa Susanas, western Santa Monicas into Malibu, the Ventura County valleys (particularly Simi Valley and Moorpark), and the western San Fernando Valley (particularly the Highway 118/210 corridors from Porter Ranch to San Fernando). , and the hills above Camarillo to eastern Ventura,” the weather service office in Los Angeles warned.

Winds are expected to increase sharply late Monday morning and continue to increase throughout the day, peaking Tuesday evening.

Conditions will slowly improve on Wednesday as some of the warnings for potentially dangerous situations are due to expire.