Eleven deaths have been confirmed and more than 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. More than 150,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders. Law enforcement sources told The Times that it’s likely many of the small fires will turn out to have been the work of arson.

A pause in the fierce winds that super-charged the ring of wildfires that devastated Los Angeles this week helped crews make progress in bringing the infernos under control on Friday but strong gusts could return over the weekend,

Firefighters are hoping for a break Friday from the 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.

Nearly a dozen people are believed to be dead -- with the Los Angeles County sheriff saying he expects that number to rise -- as devastating fires spread across Southern California amid dry and windy conditions,