Coverage of the firefighters' battle against Eaton and Palisades fires, including stories about the dangerous weather and victim frustration.

LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley said the department has staffed all available resources and fire patrols and engines are being strategically placed in the high-fire risk areas of the city.

Forecasters expect Wednesday will be noticeably windier than Tuesday and firefighters warned that vegetation is critically dry.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Red Flag warnings advising of extreme wildfire danger expired across the Los Angeles area late on Wednesday, but forecasters warned that dry and windy conditions will persist on Thursday, and that the threat of blazes remained.

Wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph in the mountains and 30 to 50 mph on the coasts and valleys are forecast for Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Wednesday. Residents exhausted by days of fire face red flag warnings with the rare "particularly dangerous situation" designation issued for those counties through Wednesday afternoon.

As firefighters struggle to gain control of massive and deadly wildfires that are raging across parts of the Los Angeles area, the region is once again bracing for the potential of new fires and for current ones to intensify as a new storm system heads for the state.

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.

"If fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorable for very rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior," the NWS warns.