At least two fires sparked in Southern California on Jan. 7 amid a “life-threatening and destructive” windstorm event that’s sweeping through the region.

As a major winter storm batters the Midwest and East Coast, the National Weather Service is warning a destructive windstorm could hit Southern California.

A rapidly spreading wildfire threatened homes and forced thousands to evacuate in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. Driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, the fire was one of several that broke out in the region.

For the third time since early November, parts of Southern California’s Los Angeles and Ventura counties are under a red flag warning for extreme fire danger.