A significant fire threat is in place in California this week as strong Santa Ana winds develop in the region.

Red flag warnings have been issued for parts of Southern California and the Sierra Nevada that will last into Friday evening due to strong winds, dry air and hot temperatures.

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has also issued an critical fire weather risk through Friday in Southern California, warning of strong winds gusting at 30 to 50 mph in valleys and potentially up to 60 mph in the mountains, which could easily spread a spark and make any fires hard to control.

(MORE: What are Santa Ana winds, and why are they so dangerous?)

Preparation for impacts, including damage to trees and power lines, blown away lawn furniture and holiday decorations and potential fire growth, should be rushed to completion.

Even if you don’t lose power due to the wind, local power companies are also warning of planned power outages.

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Power shutoffs likely

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is warning that power may need to be turned off across parts of California in preparation for the event, potentially impacting up 88,000 customers in 29 counties.

You can see what areas are going to be impacted by a PSPS here.

Southern California Edison’s online dashboard on Thursday showed it was considering public safety shutoffs that could affect more than 254,000 customers in Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties. Most of those customers — 126,000 — are in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles.

California’s wildfires so far this year

California has been experiencing a relatively mild year in terms of wildfires so far, with only 520 square miles burned compared to 816 square miles this time last year, according to CalFire.

But wildfire season is still ongoing across the state, and much like with other types of hazardous weather, it only takes one to lose your home or even your life. 

(More: Bouquet Fire explodes near Santa Clarita amid SoCal heat wave)

Make sure you have a way to get alerts about fires in your area even if the power goes out, and have a plan in place in case of emergency.

Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist with weather.com and has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Georgia Tech in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, along with a master’s degree from Unity Environmental University in Marine Science.