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

Fresh off destructive wind and firestorms, the forecast remains daunting for Southern California with additional damaging Santa Ana wind threats and critical fire weather danger continuing at times over the next several days.

Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Friday evening for much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, the National Weather Service said.

The devastating fires that have killed at least five people and forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of residents across the Los Angeles region are driven by Santa Ana winds that blow from the deserts of interior California and Nevada out to the Pacific Ocean.

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

Although the strongest wind gusts have passed through the Southern California region, another "traditional Santa Ana wind event" will move in Thursday night.

As the reality of the destruction wrought by the Southern California firestorm continued coming to light, fire crews hoped to take advantage of slightly diminished winds to establish containment lines around the various blazes before more Santa Ana winds return to the region.