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

Almost 9,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers were reported to have their power shut off by midday Wednesday as the region remains under a Red Flag Warning due to Santa Ana winds.

First discovered: 4:55 a.m. Jan. 8 A new wildfire was reported today at 4:55 a.m. in San Diego County. Centre Fire has been burning on private land. There is no update on the containment progress of the fire and its cause remains unknown.

The fierce Santa Ana winds that stoked a blaze that scorched thousands of acres near Los Angeles will wallop San Diego County early Wednesday, in the start of what forecasters say could be a week or more of off-and-on lashings in a region that’s drier than it’s been in years.

Canfield Fire initially started today at 2:58 a.m. in San Diego County. It has been burning on private land for less than an hour. At this time, the containment status is unknown and the cause of the fire remains undetermined.

San Diego fire crews have deployed resources to help in the firefight against several major wildfires in the Los Angeles area that have destroyed hundreds of homes, forced thousands to evacuate and killed at least 2 people.

A Red Flag Warning went into effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday for portions of San Diego County as Santa Ana winds began to peak.

Staff at senior care facilities in Ramona and the rest of East County are preparing for the possibility of power shutoffs with the strong Santa Ana winds and the potential fire risk.