Thousands of firefighters worked to contain new blazes Thursday, including one near the affluent Bel-Air neighborhood, while persistent winds left weary Angelenos on edge following weeks of historic fires.

Containing wildfires—never mind extinguishing them—in parched and windy conditions can be monstrously difficult. Dry vegetation is rocket fuel for blazes and wind both feeds the flames and spreads the embers. “The winds are like pointing an air blower at a fireplace,” says Gershunov, “except it’s not contained and it’s on a much larger scale.”

Forecasters warn that dangerous winds will buffet Southern California for at least two more days as new wildfires broke out and a pair of major Los Angeles-area blazes burned for a third week.

Winds in the area were blowing at about 20-30mph (32-48km/h), but could pick up, which would fan the blaze and make it harder for air crews to operate. Climate change has made the grasses and shrubs that are fuelling the Los Angeles fires more vulnerable to burning, scientists have said.

After a weekend of reprieve allowing fire teams to continue making progress battling the deadly infernos burning in Los Angeles County, Southern California now faces another round of fire-fueling Santa Ana winds.

Meanwhile, the Palisades Fire, the most destructive in Los Angeles' history, has now burned over 23K acres, according to Cal Fire.

California firefighters could make more headway in containing three major wildfires burning in and around Los Angeles on Friday, as the latest round of blistering winds calm and the area's first rainfall in months arrives over the weekend.