Strong winds fueled fires across Santa Ana in California.

Dramatic footage shows a plume of smoke rising from a hillside, with strong winds swaying trees in the foreground on January 23.

Reports indicated the large vegetation fire started Thursday afternoon on a hilltop near the US-Mexico border.

The flames from the so-called Border 2 fire spread an eerie radiance across Otay Mountain.

Cal Fire reported that around 200 crews were deployed to contain the fire. By 8:30 pm, the fire had spread to 600 acres and was completely uncontained.

Due to the Santa Ana winds, smoke drifted westward, over Otay Mesa and into Tijuana.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A second blaze began almost simultaneously near Gilman Drive in La Jolla, close to the UC San Diego campus.

Though smaller in scale—estimated at 3 acres—this fire led to evacuations in the densely populated area. By 4 pm, the evacuation order was lifted.

The National Weather Service reported wind speeds of 28 miles per hour in the area of the Border 2 Fire, with gusts reaching up to 38 miles per hour.

This fire comes amid ongoing wildfires in Southern California, including the Palisades and Eaton fires.

As of Thursday, Cal Fire data showed the Palisades Fire was 75 per cent contained, burning more than 23,400 acres, and the Eaton Fire was 95 per cent contained, scorching over 14,000 acres.

Officials confirmed 28 deaths from the deadly wildfires, 11 from the Palisades Fire and 17 from the Eaton Fire.