As firefighters on the ground scramble to contain three wildfires, weather forecasters in California warn that the strong winds that fueled the infernos around Los Angeles are predicted to pick up again this week.

After a relatively calm weekend, officials cautioned that the infamously dry Santa Ana winds would pick up speed again from Sunday night until Wednesday, reaching as high as 60 mph (96 km/h).

The deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, which are burning on opposite ends of the city, have made some headway in halting their spread ahead of the wind’s uptick. Crews from eight other states, as well as Canada and Mexico, are still arriving to help local firefighters.

Officials stated at a press conference on Sunday that 16 people have been officially declared dead and another 16 are still unaccounted for.

They also cautioned that as cadaver dogs are used by urban search and rescue teams to comb through the ruins, the death toll is likely to increase.

Around Los Angeles, three fires are still burning.

The Palisades fire is the biggest, having burned over 23,000 acres and is currently 11% contained.

With over 14,000 acres burned, the Eaton fire is the second largest. 27% of it is contained.

At 799 acres, the Hurst fire is nearly completely contained.

Authorities have warned that the upcoming wind event could result in “potential disastrous wind conditions,” putting the entire county of Los Angeles at risk of fire, even though crews have been able to begin containing the largest fires.

According to Pasadena fire chief Chad Augustin, “unfortunately, we’re going right back into red flag conditions with some potentially disastrous wind conditions between now and Wednesday, with the peak winds expected to be on Tuesday,” he told the BBC.

“While we’re making some progress, the end is not even close yet,” he stated.

Residents near evacuation zones were urged by Kristin Crowley, the city of Los Angeles fire chief, to be ready to evacuate if an order is issued and to avoid obstructing crews by avoiding the roads as much as possible.

Alice Husum, 67, of Topanga Canyon, told the BBC that although a new fire that started in the area overnight was put out quickly, she and her neighbors are “dreading Tuesday” because that’s when the wind speeds are expected to be at their highest.

The forecast, however, “is a little better than the 100 mile-gusts that were hammering us” earlier in the week, according to Ms. Husum, who has remained behind in spite of evacuation orders.

Communities in the San Fernando Valley and the area surrounding NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) were in danger on Sunday as new fires kept starting.

New fires in the Angeles National Forest, which encircle the facility that houses top-secret technology and is central to the US space program, were swiftly put out by firefighters on Sunday.

For looting in areas that required evacuation, at least 29 people have been taken into custody. Two individuals were apprehended stealing from evacuees while impersonating firefighters.

At a press conference on Sunday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna stated that he had asked for additional National Guard troops to supplement the 400 that are currently present. Since then, California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared that 1,000 more National Guard members will be sent out.

“When I was out there in the Malibu area, I saw a gentleman that looked like a firefighter. He was sitting down, so I asked him if he was alright. “I was unaware that he was in handcuffs,” Sheriff Luna said to reporters.

“He was dressed like a firefighter, but he wasn’t, so we’re handing him over to the LAPD. He was just caught breaking into a house. Therefore, those are the problems that our police officers and deputies are facing on the front lines.”

According to Sheriff Luna, there are currently 14,000 firefighters working in the southern California area, supported by 1,354 fire engines and 84 aircraft.

Approximately 105,000 residents are still under mandatory evacuation orders, and 87,000 are under evacuation warnings, although the number of evacuations has decreased.

There was still a serious threat, Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN on Sunday.

“I know that so many people probably want to get back into the area and check on their homes, but with winds picking back up, you never know which way they’re going to go,” she continued.

According to LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, his officers are once again preventing all residents from returning, even though limited access was granted to evacuated residents over the weekend.

After a drone crashed into a critical plane, authorities are now looking for information after repeatedly ordering drone operators to avoid flying close to fire zones.

The FBI has released images of the tiny drone that briefly grounded a “Super Scooper,” one of the most effective firefighting aircraft in the world, after colliding with it on Thursday.

A 3-by-6-inch (8-by-15-cm) hole was torn in the aircraft by the drone.

Officials have also issued a strong warning that anyone caught price gouging will face legal action and warned of scammers looking to exploit victims.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump and California Governor Newsom are still at odds.

The governor has invited Trump, who will take office on January 20, to visit the fire damage and blame “incompetent” politicians for “one of the worst catastrophes in our country’s history” on Saturday.

Trump has come under fire from Newsom, a Democrat, for spreading false information about the fires.

Newsom referred to Trump’s untrue statements as “inexcusable” during an interview with NBC on Sunday.