Critical fire weather is expected to continue until Wednesday at the earliest, increasing the risk that fires will spread further.

Fire crews braced for a second round of strong Santa Ana winds this week. So far, eight deaths have been confirmed from the Palisades Fire.

As Santa Ana winds returned to Southern California, residents and first responders braced for another day of critical fire weather.

After a weekend of reprieve allowing fire teams to continue making progress battling the deadly infernos burning in Los Angeles County, Southern California now faces another round of fire-fueling Santa Ana winds.

With the Palisades and Eaton Fires still not fully contained, another dangerous Santa Ana wind event is forecast in Los Angeles for Monday-Thursday.

The combined dry climate and flammable flora have created fires and firestorms before. In October 1978, the Agoura-Malibu and Mulholland Canyon fires burned more than 500 homes and killed three people. The Agoura-Malibu fire grew into a firestorm, a fire so intense it creates its own wind system.

The Palisades fire — which has invaded Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga and Mandeville canyons — was 65% contained as of Tuesday evening. Firefighters inched further on the Eaton fire — which has caused destruction in Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre — achieving 89% containment, according to Cal Fire.

After weeks of dealing with fires, Southern California will soon have to brace for possible weekend storms and potential mudslides.

The Sepulveda fire was the latest blaze in a nerve-racking week as Southern California headed into a fourth consecutive day of red flag fire weather warnings.

Thanks to the Israeli Consulate and other groups, a team of firefighting experts from Israel flew in last week and immediately joined local forces.

Even as Santa Ana winds continued to blast parts of the Southland, threatening to spark new fires or re-ignite old ones, local authorities turned their attention Wednesday to the possibility of rain hitting the area this weekend and potentially triggering mud or debris flows in recent burn areas.