The PDS designation is set to expire at 10 am PDT. But as Santa Ana winds continue to bring "critical to extremely critical" fire weather conditions to the area, a red flag warning will persist in much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties through Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service Los Angeles.

Parts of Southern California are still facing "elevated to brief "critical conditions" into Thursday night as a fast-moving wildfire that forced thousands in Malibu to evacuate continues to grow.Threat level: Red Flag warnings ended as powerful Santa Ana winds eased on Wednesday afternoon,

The fire erupted during extreme Santa Ana winds. The National Weather Service issued "a particularly dangerous" red-flag warning for much of the local area for the second time in a little over a month. Those are triggered during extreme conditions, ones that can cause fires to ignite easily and spread quickly, officials said.