Santa Ana winds have died down across the greater Los Angeles area, helping firefighters to bring almost 40,000 acres of ongoing wildfires under control.

A beefed-up firefighting force was staged around Los Angeles to attack flare-ups or new blazes and anxious residents prepared for more fire danger as winds began to build Tuesday, a week after two massive infernos destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.

Officials are bracing for the return of fierce Santa Ana winds as they try to contain large blazes in the Los Angeles area. Here's the latest.

This is really just the last push of these winds here today," National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall said.