Dozens of communities are now under mandatory evacuation orders in Southern California with evacuation warnings affecting dozens more as crews continued battling a pair of deadly wildfires in the region Friday.

The fierce winds in the Los Angeles area subsided Friday, but critical fire weather conditions remain and red flag warnings are still in place.

Red flag criteria is generally when relative humidity is at 15% or less, combined with sustained winds and/or gusts of 25 mph or greater. Both of these conditions must occur simultaneously for at least 3 hours in a 12 hour period, according to the NWS.

Dire warnings have been issued for the Los Angeles area, with a dangerous threat for the strongest wind event in more than a decade. Outages and extreme fire behaviours are major risks

The winds will come and go, with the strongest gusts expected early next week, especially next Monday night and into Tuesday, forecasters said.

Although the strongest wind gusts have passed through the Southern California region, another "traditional Santa Ana wind event" will move in Thursday night.

Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Friday evening for much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, the National Weather Service said.