Los Angeles firefighters braced for intense winds that could fuel two monstrous wildfires that have already killed two dozen people, leveled entire neighborhoods and scorched an area the size of Washington,

The Santa Ana winds are dry, powerful winds that blow down the mountains toward the Southern California coast. The region sees about 10 Santa Ana wind events a year on average, typically occurring from fall into January. When conditions are dry, as they are right now, these winds can become a severe fire hazard.