Crews battling California wildfires gird for return of high winds

VENTURA, California: Santa Ana winds that have stoked wildfires across Southern California, destroying hundreds of buildings and forcing evacuations of some 200,000 people are forecast to return in force on Sunday, authorities said.

Firefighters had gained some ground battling the fires that have burned over the past week as the winds eased on Saturday.

At least one person has been killed. The Skirball Fire in Los Angeles was 75 percent contained, while the Creek and Rye Fires in Los Angeles County were 80 percent and 65 percent contained, officials said. The largest blaze, the Thomas Fire, has blackened 155,000 acres in Ventura County and was 15 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said in a statement on Saturday night.