A wildfire in the hills near the U.S.-Mexico border exploded early Friday morning over thousands of acres, prompting evacuation orders throughout the Otay Wilderness Area and triggering school closures as well as likely power shutoffs for tens of thousands of people.

With many parts of Los Angeles County still smoldering from wildfires, the expected rain this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat.

First discovered: 6:52 a.m. Jan. 24 A new wildfire was reported today at 6:52 a.m. in San Diego County. The wildfire has been burning on private land. Currently, there are no details on the containment or cause of the fire.

A Pacific storm that will begin to spread across San Diego County late Saturday could produce enough rain and snow through Tuesday to significantly lower the threat of wildfires across the region, the National Weather Service indicated in an advisory.

Firefighters are responding Wednesday to a brush fire in Rancho Bernardo. The fire started around 8:55 a.m. near Bernardo Center Drive and Camino del Norte, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue, which was responding alongside Poway Fire.

A new wildfire was reported today at 11:50 a.m. in San Diego County. Heavenly Fire has been burning on private land. At this time, there is no data on the containment status of the fire and the cause has yet to be determined.

As wildfires continued to burn in Los Angeles, three fires broke out in San Diego County, prompting evacuation orders and warnings.