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.

On Wednesday at 2:17 a.m. the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA issued an updated high wind warning. The warning is for Western Santa Monica Mountains Recreational area, Calabasas and Agoura Hills and Southeastern Ventura County Valleys.

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 National Weather Service issued a wind advisory at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday in effect until 10 p.m. for Berkshire County.

An updated high wind warning was issued by the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA on Monday at 11:31 p.m. valid from Tuesday 4 p.m. until Wednesday 6 p.m. The warning is for Catalina and Santa Barbara Islands,