Firefighters are hoping for a break from fierce winds fueling massive blazes in the Los Angeles area, killing 10 people, obliterating whole neighborhoods and setting the nation’s second-largest city on edge.

Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region,