Firefighters battling two fires that have wreaked havoc across Los Angeles for nine days can get some relief Thursday from the weather.
The strong hurricane-force winds that initially sparked the fires and hampered rescue efforts have weakened to much lighter gusts.
Progress has been made in containing the two largest fires burning totaling about 40,000 acres.
At least 25 people were killed and more than 12,000 structures were destroyed in some of the worst fires in memory to sweep through America's second-largest city.
The two largest fires, Eaton and Palisades, are still burning more than a week later — and firefighting help has been requested from Mexico and Canada.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has lifted red flag warnings, but they may return in a few days.
NWS's Ryan Kettle told AFP there would be “a significant improvement tonight and tomorrow, although there are still some outstanding areas of concern.”
Fire warnings remain critical, with parts of Southern California still seeing increased risks despite weak winds and high humidity, says BBC meteorologist Paul Goddard.
There is no rain forecast for California over the next week.
Officials are also monitoring Santa Ana winds, which are blamed for fanning the fires. The winds are expected to return early next week, raising the risk of more red flag warnings.
Wind speeds can reach 30-50 mph (48-80 km/h).
The Palisades Fire, the largest fire burning, has not seen any fire growth as firefighters work to contain the flames, according to Jim Hudson, Cal Fire incident manager.
It burned 24 thousand acres. It was more than 20% contained as of Thursday morning.
“There are still extreme hazards and extreme heat around the perimeter and inside of this fire,” Hudson said during a news conference in Malibu on Wednesday.
Hudson added that 5,100 personnel were assigned to contain the fire.
“As we move forward, we will continue to increase our containment when we feel the situation is safe and safety is not only limited to lives and property, but also to fire growth as well,” he added.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the 25th death due to the fires earlier this week. A number of other people are still missing.
Most of the victims died in the Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,000 acres north of the city. Firefighters were able to contain 45% of the fire.
Some victims of the Eaton fire have now been allowed to return to their homes, but tens of thousands of people are still under evacuation orders – with a night-time curfew also in place.
Thousands of homes were destroyed in one of the costliest natural disasters in American history.
Study of extreme weather attribution by climate scientists in 'Climate scaleHe concluded that the California wildfires were fueled by meteorological conditions enhanced by human-induced climate change.
The study found that current conditions were warmer, drier and windier than in the past, in fire-affected areas.
