A lull in the winds that have fuelled wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles, California, has helped firefighters make some progress in containing the blazes, but strong winds expected in the coming days could reignite the fires.

The fires, which have ravaged neighbourhoods on both the east and west sides of the sprawling city, have so far killed 10 people and destroyed nearly 10,000 structures, and those numbers are expected to rise.

We are doing everything we can to get the situation under control,’ Los Angeles Mayor Caris Bass told a news conference. We know we’re going to see a potential increase in wind strength early next week.

President Joe Biden said federal officials expect the winds to remain a threat until at least early next week.

The National Weather Service said winds were expected to drop to 20 mph on Saturday and Sunday from the 80 mph peak of the past few days.