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.

The red-flag warning extended Wednesday for the county’s inland valleys still is set to expire at 6 p.m. Friday, with overnight northeast winds of 28 to 38 mph and possible gusts of 50 mph, up to 60 mph after midnight.

San Diego County has slipped back into severe drought conditions, with a new round of Santa Ana winds and critical fire weather conditions exacerbating the risk for wildfires to spread rapidly.

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

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.

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.

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.