With the strongest gusts expected on Tuesday, extreme fire condition threats will prevail until midweek, L.A.-area fire chiefs say.

In recent days, however, the region’s powerful Santa Ana winds—which have been fanning the flames—have begun to slow down. This lull has offered firefighters a reprieve and a key opportunity to make progress against the blazes, but forecasts suggest the Santa Ana will return next week. What are these gusts, and how have they become so strong?

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,

A "Particularly Dangerous Situation" warning remains in effect as strong winds cause extreme fire danger in Southern California.

Los Angeles firefighters braced for high winds overnight into Tuesday, gusts that could fuel two monstrous wildfires that have already leveled entire neighborhoods, killed at least two dozen people, and burned an area the size of Washington,

Santa Ana winds are caused by strong high pressure over the Great Basin region of the West creating a pressure gradient that amps up winds through the mountains, foothills and sometimes valleys of Southern California. In this case, the winds are getting a major boost from a strong upper-level low pushing southward across the state.

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

National Weather Service offices across Southern California are warning residents of an increase in weather conditions that are conducive to rapid fire growth. Meteorologists are most concerned about conditions from Monday afternoon through Wednesday morning when winds will be at their peak and relative humidity will be low.

Helping drive the wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles are the so-called Santa Ana winds, a weather phenomenon known to dry out "the hills and the nerves to flash point."

The winds are common in California in the colder months, but they can sometimes help spread dangerous wildfires.

The California Democrat has pressed moderate measures to aid victims and been a constant TV presence as he and the state battle online falsehoods.