Firefighters have managed to contain some of the wildfires racing through Southern California in the past few days, authorities said on Wednesday.
Forecasters said the gale-force winds that drove many of the blazes were likely to lessen, offering hope for further containment.
The winds would probably be in the 30-mph range, with gusts of about 50 mph, rather than the continuous gale forces that had plagued the region since the weekend.
Firefighters reported some success in containing some of the fires, including the Malibu fire, which first started on Sunday near Los Angeles.
The 1,822-hectare Malibu fire was listed as 75 percent contained Wednesday, with no active flames reported, and evacuated residents were being allowed back into their homes.
"There are no active evacuations at this time," said Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy Johnie Jones, speaking from the county's Office of Emergency Management.
But firefighters said spot fires continued to break out, especially at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County.
There was still much work to be done to control the fires, which had destroyed about 1050 square kilometers across seven counties and prompted the largest evacuation in state history.
Red-flag warnings would continue until Wednesday afternoon. In San Diego, the worst-hit area, new evacuations were still being ordered.
Though the Santa Ana winds were starting to let up, forecasters predicted another day of temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit (more than 30 degrees Centigrade) coupled with dry conditions.
Full containment of the fires was still at least days away in most areas, authorities said.
Source: Xinhua
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