A red flag warning for critical fire danger, due to strong winds and low humidity, will remain in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday for the County mountains and inland valleys.

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

Potentially critical fire weather is likely to arrive in San Diego Tuesday and worsen into mid-week, with Santa Ana winds setting in amid dry conditions.

Dry air and gusty winds will continue throughout County through the middle of next week, followed by cooler and cloudier weather by the end of the week and possible light precipitation by next weekend.

Jan. 16 A new wildfire was reported today at 5:42 p.m. in San Diego County. Red Fire has been burning on federal land managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Currently, there is no data indicating the containment progress of the fire and its cause remains undetermined.

Wind gusts have peaked for the most part here in San Diego County, but dry and breezy afternoon conditions will keep the Red Flag Warning in place for valleys and mountains until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

A red flag warning was set to expire for San Diego County Wednesday as Santa Ana winds diminish, although dry conditions could still create concern for wildfires in the days to come, forecasters said.