The National Weather Service on Wednesday extended the wildfire warning through the end of the week for much of East County.

The Santa Ana winds that stoked a huge wildfire near Malibu were beginning to snap through San Diego County late Tuesday afternoon, in the start of what could be a week or more of off-and-on lashings in a region that’s drier than it’s been in years,

The alert status for heightened combustion hazards in the county's inland valleys and mountains went into effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday and will last until 6 p.m. Friday.