Dozens of communities are now under mandatory evacuation orders in Southern California with evacuation warnings affecting dozens more as crews continued battling a pair of deadly wildfires in the region Friday.

The fierce winds in the Los Angeles area subsided Friday, but critical fire weather conditions remain and red flag warnings are still in place.

There is great concern that fire weather conditions could become exacerbated' again for Los Angeles County. Three Santa Ana wind events are possible next week.

Red flag criteria is generally when relative humidity is at 15% or less, combined with sustained winds and/or gusts of 25 mph or greater. Both of these conditions must occur simultaneously for at least 3 hours in a 12 hour period, according to the NWS.

Dire warnings have been issued for the Los Angeles area, with a dangerous threat for the strongest wind event in more than a decade. Outages and extreme fire behaviours are major risks

San Diego County, which is in the midst of one of the driest periods on record, will be lashed by unusually cold and expansive Santa Ana winds early Wednesday that could spark wildfires, snap

Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Friday evening for much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, the National Weather Service said.

Fresh off destructive wind and firestorms, the forecast remains daunting for Southern California with additional damaging Santa Ana wind threats and critical fire weather danger continuing at times over the next several days.