Fire and wind conditions have closed several freeways and highways in impacted Southern California areas. Caltrans provided a list of fully closed highways and freeways, as of Wednesday morning. Closures are due to Palisades,

Wildfires began breaking out in Southern California Tuesday morning as a life-threatening, widespread windstorm that could be one of the most destructive to hit the region in over a decade roars to life and creates extremely dangerous fire weather conditions.

The Santa Ana winds occur when there is high pressure to the east, in the Great Basin, and a low-pressure system off the coast. Air masses move from high pressure to low pressure, and the more extreme the difference in the pressure, the faster the winds blow. Topography also plays a role.