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.”

Dangerous winds forecast to hit Los Angeles next week could rekindle the devastating fires that have wreaked havoc on the US West Coast for almost two weeks, meterologists said on Sunday. The National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles predicted "damaging Santa Ana winds and extreme fire weather" to hit the city Monday through Tuesday,