Red flag warnings will be in effect for all of Southern California, beginning Monday

Red flag warnings will go into effect early Monday for large areas of Southern California, from Los Angeles to San Diego, due to Santa Ana's strong winds, according to the National Weather Service.

Strong dry winds combined with warm temperatures and low humidity will bring fire weather to the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains and parts of the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County, according to the weather service. Inland areas of Orange County and all of Bernardino and Riverside County Valley and mountain areas will also be affected.

“This is very typical for this time of year,” said Sebastian Westerink, a meteorologist with the San Diego Weather Service. “This is Santa Ana's peak wind season and I would say this is at least an average event.”

Winds could reach 80 mph in windy corridors in Los Angeles and Ventura counties Monday night into Tuesday, officials said. Gusts between 40 and 60 mph will be common and winds could reach 65 mph near San Diego in the mountains and passes.

The National Weather Service advises residents who live near wild areas to be prepared to evacuate in the event of a wildfire and to avoid burning outdoors.

“Any fires that do break out are likely to spread quickly … which could threaten life and property,” the statement said warnings said. “There is an increasing threat of fire weather conditions that have affected other ancient fires in recent times including the Mountain and Thomas Fires.”

Temperatures will be cooler on the coast and in the low 70s across the interior on Monday, Westerink said. Humidity will be in the single digits, about 7% near San Diego and 5% near Los Angeles, with single readings at 2%, according to the National Weather Service.

Santa Ana winds, which move inland from cooler, high-pressure jets in the Great Basin, often affect Southern California this time of year and help create wildfire conditions. Dry fuel also increases the risk of wildfires, the National Weather Service said.

“This is very common in early December,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service station in Oxnard. “It would be shocking if we didn't have these kinds of events.”

Red flag warnings will remain in effect until early Wednesday.

Santa Ana's strong winds were blamed for destroying the Camarillo Mountain Fire last month. The fire, which started on Nov. 6 and burned for days, burning nearly 20,000 acres, destroying 243 buildings and damaging dozens in nearby communities in western Ventura County, according to data released by state officials.

Statistics put the fire as the third deadliest in Southern California since at least 2013.