Strong Santa Ana winds are hitting fire-ravaged Los Angeles on Friday morning, but the winds will relax later in the day and the red flag warning will end Friday night.

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

That’s leading to the creation of mountain waves, which arise when strong winds blow perpendicular to a mountain range. The waves shoot down the coastal side of the mountains, gaining speed along the way, and are more casually referred to as simple Santa Ana winds.

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.

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.

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.

The NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA issued a red flag warning at 9:53 a.m. on Friday in effect until 6 p.m. The warning is for Ventura County Beaches, Ventura County Inland Coast, Central Ventura County Valleys,

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag waning for a wide swath of Southern California as Santa Ana winds are expected to bring dangerous fire weather to the region later this week.

The Santa Ana winds will stick around into Friday morning as most of the region remains under a critical fire risk.The National Weather Service extended a red flag warning for much of the region until 6 p.