A pause in the fierce winds that super-charged the ring of wildfires that devastated Los Angeles this week helped crews make progress in bringing the infernos under control on Friday but strong gusts could return over the weekend,

Wildfires continued to grow Wednesday as fire crews battled three major out-of-control blazes that killed at least five people.

The intense and fast-moving fires that have cut a path of destruction through the suburbs of Los Angeles, killing at least two people, are being driven by the region's powerful Santa Ana winds, with gusts that in some cases surpass hurricane-strength.

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.