This is the third time in as many months that strong Santa Ana winds have prompted Southern California Edison to cut power to its customers over fire risk.

High winds that weather officials have called "life-threatening and destructive" are hitting Southern California Tuesday, sparking a major brush fire in Pacific Palisades and prompting thousands of power outages.

The strongest winds in more than a decade could hit Southern California, potentially causing structural damage and bringing extreme fire risk to areas that haven't seen substantial rain in months.

Parts of Southern California will be slammed with destructive winds leading to possible power outages and elevating the possibility of wildfires. How to prepare for blackouts

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.

Forecasters warned Southern California could see a “life-threatening, destructive” windstorm this week, as powerful gusts and dropped humidity levels raise the risk for wildfires in parched areas still recovering from a recent destructive blaze.

Southern California Edison, one of the major electricity providers, could shut off power to more than 409,000 residents amid a major Santa Ana windstorm this week.