A windstorm that is generating gusts up to hurricane strength is fanning three wildfires in Southern California, sending thousands of residents fleeing their homes as the blazes engulf residences and

A life-threatening, widespread windstorm that could be one of the most destructive to hit Southern California in over a decade will roar to life Tuesday and also create extremely dangerous fire weather conditions.

Strong winds — with gusts as high as 79 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains — began blowing their way through Southern California on Tuesday morning, Jan. 7, leading to the possibility of downed trees and wires, power outages and dangerous fire weather.