Axios

The Geminid meteor shower, which NASA calls one of the "best meteor showers of the year," is expected to peak Friday and Saturday.

The big picture: The shower appears around mid-December each year as Earth passes through the debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

A wildfire threatening Malibu homes has forced thousands to evacuate, and forecasters warn "very dry air and elevated fire weather conditions would persist" into Wednesday night, even after red flag warnings ended earlier in the day.

The big picture: Santa Ana winds and very low humidity have driven the dire conditions, as hundreds of firefighters tackle the fast-moving Franklin Fire, which was burning out of control across an estimated 4,000-plus acres in Malibu Wednesday.

Parts of Southern California are still facing "elevated to brief "critical conditions" into Thursday night as a fast-moving wildfire that forced thousands in Malibu to evacuate continues to grow.

Threat level: Red Flag warnings ended as powerful Santa Ana winds eased on Wednesday afternoon, but the National Weather Service's Los Angeles office said on X that breezy areas of southwest Santa Barbara County and the San Gabriel Mountains were still under threat amid "very dry" conditions.