Dozens of communities are now under mandatory evacuation orders in Southern California with evacuation warnings affecting dozens more as crews continued battling a pair of deadly wildfires in the region Friday.

The fierce winds in the Los Angeles area subsided Friday, but critical fire weather conditions remain and red flag warnings are still in place.

Red flag criteria is generally when relative humidity is at 15% or less, combined with sustained winds and/or gusts of 25 mph or greater. Both of these conditions must occur simultaneously for at least 3 hours in a 12 hour period, according to the NWS.

Dire warnings have been issued for the Los Angeles area, with a dangerous threat for the strongest wind event in more than a decade. Outages and extreme fire behaviours are major risks

A short reprieve in the strong destructive winds has granted firefighters an opportunity to curb the spread of the deadly Eaton Fire near Pasadena.

With fire crews slowly making progress against a series of devastating Los Angeles wildfires that have claimed at least 10 lives, Santa Ana winds will buffet the region for one more day Friday.

Strong Santa Ana winds and the surrounding topography in Southern California have made it extremely challenging for firefighters to battle the blazes across Los Angeles County. Neil Lareau, an assistant professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Nevada,