A fast-moving wildfire erupted several miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in the San Diego area today, blackening hundreds of open acres as ground and airborne crews worked to quell the flames amid arid and blustery Santa Ana conditions.

Over 1,100 firefighters were “strategically pre-positioned” across Southern California to address "ongoing critical fire weather," Cal Fire said.

Forecasters say weaker winds will hit on Saturday night and Sunday, and that there will be no relief until the county gets rain.

The Hughes Fire near Castaic, California, has burned over 5,000 acres, prompting evacuations and school closures.

Southern California is going to get a much-needed break from the relentless Santa Ana winds that led to the destructive wind and firestorms that have left at least 10 people dead and neighborhoods in ruins.

The Hughes Fire has spread over 8,096 acres after starting just before lunchtime in Los Angeles County's Castaic Lake area on Wednesday.

The Santa Ana winds fanning wildfires that have killed at least 25 people in Southern California and destroyed more than 10,000 houses, businesses and other structures in Greater Los Angeles are flaring up again.

A storm is brewing and will deliver much-needed soaking rain to wildfire-ravaged Southern California, snow to the mountainsand rain and snow to many areas in the southwestern United States, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

Another moderate to strong Santa Ana wind event is expected to develop across Southern California during the first half of the workweek, heightening wildfire dangers in a region still coping with the last significant firestorm from nearly two weeks ago.

The fire was reported around 2:20 p.m. Thursday in the Otay Mountains of San Diego's South Bay near the border.