Winds that have fueled LA fires are expected to calm, giving firefighters a chance to corral flames

California's wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change

- AGENCIES LOS ANGELES, 10 JANUARY

Firefighters hoped for a break Friday from fierce winds that have fueled massive blazes in the Los Angeles area, killing 10 people, obliterating whole neighborhoods and setting the nation's second-largest city on edge.

The fires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday, when they first began popping up around a densely populated, 25-mile expanse north of downtown Los Angeles. No cause has been identified for the largest fires.

The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that has grown used to massive wildfires. Dozens of blocks of scenic Pacific Palisades were flattened to smoldering rubble. In neighboring Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.