A fire broke out Wednesday night along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass near the Getty Center, burning about 20 acres and spurring an evacuation warning.

The most serious red flag fire weather warning has been issued by the NWS for swaths of L.A. and Ventura counties starting before dawn Tuesday.

Over 1,100 firefighters were “strategically pre-positioned” across Southern California to address "ongoing critical fire weather," Cal Fire said.

Thousands of firefighters worked to contain new blazes Thursday, including one near the affluent Bel-Air neighborhood, while persistent winds left weary Angelenos on edge following weeks of historic fires.

The Hughes Fire near Castaic, north of Los Angeles, was 24% contained on Thursday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.

The fire threat remains critical in Southern California, where thousands of residents were under evacuation orders Wednesday as fire crews battled the out-of-control Hughes Fire near Castaic, a suburb in the foothills and mountains of northern Los Angeles County.

Windy and dry conditions have returned to Southern California, raising the risk of new wildfires sparking as firefighters continue to battle two major blazes in the Los Angeles area that started in similar weather nearly two weeks ago.

After a weekend of reprieve allowing fire teams to continue making progress battling the deadly infernos burning in Los Angeles County, Southern California now faces another round of fire-fueling Santa Ana winds.

This is the third PDS warning issued within 14 days in the greater Los Angeles area, which is "unprecedented" for the region, according to the National Weather Service.

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.

Firefighters in Southern California have been conducting more fierce wildfire fights as crews race to contain and extinguish several fires that broke out on Wednesday and Thursday.

Two weeks after the Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed thousands of homes in two distinct LA-area communities, many in Los Angeles County are still in a state of shock, even as donation drives peter out and the focus starts to shift from immediate support for fire survivors to broader questions about how the region could rebuild and recover .