Winds that have fanned wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles are again expected to kick up on Wednesday – after a 25th death from the huge, week-long outbreak was confirmed.
Forecasters have again identified an area of “extreme fire danger”, emphasising the risk level in a region to the north-west of the city centre.
In some mountainous areas, it is possible for winds to reach speeds of 70mph (113km/h), which would be nearly hurricane-force if they are sustained.
The anticipated increase in speeds threatens to spread the remaining four blazes, which firefighters have made further progress in tackling during a few days of calmer conditions.
Wind speeds began a slow and steady climb on Wednesday morning in parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. They are expected to peak during the day on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Compared with last week’s conditions, winds are “weaker but still strong”, the NWS cautions.
There are hopes of another drop over the subsequent days – but officials have highlighted the need for rain that would help fire crews in their battle.
“The anticipated winds combined with low humidities and low fuel moistures will keep the fire threat in the LA region critical,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Areas to the north-west of Los Angeles – including Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks – have been deemed to be particularly dangerous.
An improvement in conditions is forecast later on Thursday and into Friday, says BBC Weather forecaster Sarah Keith-Lucas.
But no rainfall is forecast for at least the next week – and the Santa Ana winds that have been blamed for stoking the blazes could again develop from Sunday.
The fire chief for the city of Pasadena echoed the need for precipitation.
There had been no “real rain in southern California” for more than 250 days, Chad Augustin told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
His firefighters would spent Wednesday on “standing guard ready to ensure that we hold our containment lines and we don’t burn up any more structures”, Mr Augustin added.
An extreme weather attribution study from climate scientists at ‘Climameter‘ has concluded that the Californian wildfires have been fuelled by meteorological conditions strengthened by human-induced climate change.
The study found that current conditions have been warmer, drier and windier compared with the past, in the areas affected by the fires.