dvt_santa_ana_winds.png If winds several thousand feet above the ground are also from the north or northeast, as they would be when an upper-level low-pressure system is swirling over Arizona, southern Nevada or northwestern Mexico, those stronger winds ...

The storm is battering southern California with Santa Ana winds, fueling wildfire risks. Arizona will see winds, but not much more.

The same Santa Ana winds spreading wildfire across southern California are blowing the smoke over the Pacific Ocean, not into Arizona.

The Santa Ana winds fanning wildfires that have killed at least 25 people in Southern California and destroyed more than 10,000 houses, businesses and other structures in Greater Los Angeles are flaring up again.

So far, the strongest winds recorded during the fires were around 100 miles per hour, which is considered hurricane-force strength. The strong Santa Ana winds are still expected to remain throughout the week, which is not ideal for the ongoing fight to contain the fires.

Wildfire season in the Southwest has been a predictable rhythm of the region’s arid climate. As the dry months stretched from spring into summer and temperatures rose, towering flames would leave charred landscapes in their wake. By mid-fall and winter, people could exhale a sigh of relief, as the worst of the year’s fire danger passed.

Fires began Tuesday afternoon as high-speed winds, known as the Santa Ana winds, quickly spread flames from a small fire into Pacific Palisades.

Winds could threaten small signs of progress firefighters made over the weekend with the devastating Pacific Palisades Fire.

LOS ANGELES − The death toll from a devastating series of fires in Los Angeles County rose to 16, officials announced, as air crews used fire retardant and water to battle the Palisades Fire that threatened homes even closer to the heart of the city on Saturday.