Not only do these winds accelerate the speed and spread of the fires, they also affect how the fires are fought. The strong winds can make it dangerous to fly aircraft used for containing the fires.

High winds have been a key ingredient of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, and after a brief lull they are forecast to intensify through the middle of the week. That’s certain to complicate the fight against blazes that have killed at least two dozen people,

Firefighters held the line against two massive wildfires that have ravaged parts of Los Angeles for the past week, even as desert winds and a parched landscape presented extremely hazardous conditions.