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.

State prisoners have long been a part of California's firefighting force. Hundreds of them now are deployed in Los Angeles County.

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,