The ferocious Santa Ana winds that helped fuel the deadly wildfires around Los Angeles are forecast to ease later Wednesday, but they may return.

The Santa Anas are expected to be most powerful Monday night into Tuesday. Fire services across the region say they are ready.

Santa Ana winds in Southern California are often-fierce winds that topple power lines and trees and can turn a spark into a raging wildfire.

The winds fueling Southern California wildfires form when a high-pressure system develops over the Great Basin in Utah and Nevada

Jon Keeley, a research ecologist in California with the U.S. Geological Survey and adjunct professor at UCLA, explains what causes extreme winds like this in Southern California, and why they create such a dangerous fire risk.

Katabatic winds? Adiabatic compression? Time for a thermodynamics lesson! The record lack of rain has also made this Santa Ana event different.

While winds will be weaker on Thursday, another Santa Ana wind event is forecasted for Friday, with wind advisories likely in the Santa Clarita Valley to Point Mugu area from early morning to early afternoon, according to the NWS Los Angeles.

The winds will come and go, with the strongest gusts expected early next week, especially next Monday night and into Tuesday, forecasters said.

As wildfires continued to burn in Los Angeles, three fires broke out in San Diego County, prompting evacuation orders and warnings.

Southern Californians are bracing for gusty winds and a heightened risk of wildfires less than two weeks after deadly blazes that have killed at least 27 people and ravaged thousands of homes.

Unlike the Canadian wildfires that sent smoke across the eastern and midwestern United States in 2023, the LA wildfires will