The winds are common in California in the colder months, but they can sometimes help spread dangerous wildfires.

High-speed winds this week have the potential to knock over semitrucks and cause other hazardous driving situations. Here's what to know.

Driven by punishing and unrelenting Santa Ana winds, a massive brush fire ripped through the Pacific Palisades area Tuesday, destroying or damaging an unknown number of structures and forcing thousands of people from their homes as it moved toward Malibu on the west and Santa Monica on the southeast.

We are under a First Alert Weather Alert until 7 this evening due to Santa Ana winds and their impacts. Red Flag Warnings and High Wind Warnings remain in place through this evening across Southern California,

Santa Ana winds in Southern California are often-fierce winds that topple power lines and trees and can turn a spark into a raging wildfire.

The fire ignited in Pacific Palisades amid "a life-threatening, destructive, widespread windstorm," officials said.