Millions of Southern Californians were on edge as winds began picking up during a final round of dangerous fire weather forecast for the region Wednesday where two massive blazes have killed at least 25 and destroyed thousands of homes.

The threat of powerful wind gusts, combined with bone-dry humidity, in Los Angeles on Wednesday could test firefighters who have been battling to keep monstrous fires in Los Angeles in check since last week.

Easing winds delivered a brief but much-needed reprieve to firefighters Tuesday as they battled two massive blazes burning in the Los Angeles area, and the National Weather Service pushed back its unusually dire warning of critical fire weather until early the following day.