Several counties in Southern California faced "critical" fire risks this week, according to an AccuWeather forecast.

The Hughes Fire was first reported shortly after 10:30 a.m. along Lake Hughes Road, near Castaic Lake and the 5 Freeway, according to Cal Fire.

"The fire is growing with a moderate rate of spread and structures are threatened," Cal Fire said as it issued evacuation orders.

Southern California experienced extreme fire weather on Tuesday, with wind speeds reaching up to 100 mph in the mountains. This triggered new wildfires, including the Lilac Fire in San Diego County, which grew to 80 acres,

Two new wildfires started in Southern California Tuesday night and into Wednesday, as gusty Santa Ana winds continue to plague the state this week.

Thousands of firefighters have been battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. The two largest fires, the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, remain active.

Two new wildfires broke out in San Diego County early Tuesday, prompting evacuations as dangerous fire weather conditions continue to grip the region.

The Clay fire, which broke out Tuesday in a river bottom in Riverside County east of Los Angeles, quickly spread to nearly 40 acres. But by Tuesday night, crews had stopped its progress and were doing “extensive mop-up operations,” Riverside officials said. It was 40 percent contained as of 4 a.m. Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Parched Southern California was forecast to face more dangerous winds on Wednesday but could get some badly needed rain this weekend, dampening the prospects of another round of deadly wildfires though even a small amount of precipitation could could create new challenges like toxic ash runoff.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Winds picked up on Tuesday in Southern California and at least a couple of new wildfires broke out as firefighters remained on alert in extreme fire weather two weeks after two major blazes started that are still burning in the Los Angeles area.

Millions of California residents were placed under a red flag warning through Thursday amid threats of further fires with looming winds in the forecast, according to multiple reports.