In recent days, however, the region’s powerful Santa Ana winds—which have been fanning the flames—have begun to slow down. This lull has offered firefighters a reprieve and a key opportunity to make progress against the blazes, but forecasts suggest the Santa Ana will return next week. What are these gusts, and how have they become so strong?

Dangerous Santa Ana winds are expected to return to the Los Angeles area this week, potentially fueling the growth of new and existing wildfires, according to FOX Weather.

A view of flames at the mountain as seen from Topanga Canyon near Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025. A fast-moving wildfire has forced 180,000 people to evacuate, with officials warning that worsening winds could further escalate the blaze. Credit - Anadolu—Getty Images

Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Friday evening for much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, the National Weather Service said.

Helping drive the wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles are the so-called Santa Ana winds, a weather phenomenon known to dry out "the hills and the nerves to flash point."

Santa Ana winds are caused by strong high pressure over the Great Basin region of the West creating a pressure gradient that amps up winds through the mountains, foothills and sometimes valleys of Southern California. In this case, the winds are getting a major boost from a strong upper-level low pushing southward across the state.

Two wildfires still burning in Los Angeles have torched more urban area than any other fire in the state since at least the mid-1980s