California wildfires carve path to sea, offer respite

A huge southern California wildfire carved a path to the sea and burned on the beach yesterday, but firefighters got a break as gusty Santa Ana winds turned into breezes.

Temperatures remained high, but humidity levels were expected to soar as cool air moved in from the ocean and the Santa Ana winds retreated.

At the same time, the reversal of wind direction carried the risk of sending flames in new, dangerous directions.