Wind Dies Down in SoCal

The winds have let up in Southern California,  giving some relief to firefighters battling wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of residents to flee. Gusts in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles were down to 39mph, much lower than the roughly 80mph winds that fanned the huge wildfire there yesterday, the National Weather Service reports.

The wind has also slowed to 25 mph in Orange and Riverside counties, allowing firefighters there to set backfires to prevent flames from moving into more neighborhoods. (More California fires stories.)