Another round of fire-fueling Santa Ana winds is lashing Southern California after a brief weekend reprieve helped crews make more progress battling the deadly infernos in Los Angeles County.

Containing wildfires—never mind extinguishing them—in parched and windy conditions can be monstrously difficult. Dry vegetation is rocket fuel for blazes and wind both feeds the flames and spreads the embers. “The winds are like pointing an air blower at a fireplace,” says Gershunov, “except it’s not contained and it’s on a much larger scale.”