Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes as a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades grew to nearly 20,000 acres by Friday.

The gusty winds that helped spread multiple wildfires gradually subsided on Wednesday afternoon, but dry conditions mean less potent winds could still be dangerous. More strong winds are expected later Thursday.

Santa Ana winds are caused by strong high pressure over the Great Basin region of the West creating a pressure gradient that amps up winds through the mountains, foothills and sometimes valleys of Southern California. In this case, the winds are getting a major boost from a strong upper-level low pushing southward across the state.

Although the strongest wind gusts have passed through the Southern California region, another "traditional Santa Ana wind event" will move in Thursday night.

While calm winds and days of soaking rain are what fire-ravaged areas of Southern California desperately need, more rounds of wind are in store that will again cause the wildfire risk to surge, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

As the reality of the destruction wrought by the Southern California firestorm continued coming to light, fire crews hoped to take advantage of slightly diminished winds to establish containment lines around the various blazes before more Santa Ana winds return to the region.