Even as four wildfires continued to burn in Los Angeles County Wednesday, the blazes were already rewriting the record books.

The Santa Ana winds are dry, powerful winds that blow down the mountains toward the Southern California coast. The region sees about 10 Santa Ana wind events a year on average, typically occurring from fall into January. When conditions are dry, as they are right now, these winds can become a severe fire hazard.

The National Weather Service issued its most serious red flag warning for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties this week as the fires still burn

Santa Ana winds occur when air flows west from a region of high pressure over the dry Great Basin to lower pressure off the California coast, According to Accuweather. As that cool interior air flows over and through mountain passes, it accelerates, sinks and compresses.

Katabatic winds? Adiabatic compression? Time for a thermodynamics lesson! The record lack of rain has also made this Santa Ana event different.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Santa Ana winds are common in Southern California during cooler months ... passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch.” San Diego’s 7 most dangerous intersections could soon get a safety overhaul.

Thousands of firefighters were battling at least three separate blazes on Wednesday, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena. Track them live.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.

Fierce wildfires continued to burn on Thursday in the Los Angeles area. Here's where the current blazes stand, and what to know about the containment effort.

January has been unusually sunny across the Bay Area, but a shift in the weather is expected Saturday and Sunday. The return of the marine layer will bring increased cloud cover and lower temperatures,

In recent days, however, the region’s powerful Santa Ana winds—which have been fanning the flames—have begun to slow down. This lull has offered firefighters a reprieve and a key opportunity to make progress against the blazes, but forecasts suggest the Santa Ana will return next week. What are these gusts, and how have they become so strong?

Besides burning the most urban area, the Eaton and Palisades fires are the largest ever for California in January. Alexandra Syphard, a senior research scientist at the Conservation Biology Institute, said their timing and path through the city “may have no precedent in history.”