The winds are common in California in the colder months, but they can sometimes help spread dangerous wildfires.

Santa Ana winds in Southern California are often-fierce winds that topple power lines and trees and can turn a spark into a raging wildfire.

The ferocious wildfires turning the Los Angeles area into a raging inferno are being fueled by "hurricane force" Santa Ana winds that have already prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and are rapidly destroying homes.