As the Pacific Palisades fire scorched more than 200 acres, billowing smoke was visible for miles. One surfer road a wave, with smoke in the background. Two other people laid on the sand, a white plume nearly filling the sky behind them. And a pair of bicyclists pedaled along the beach against an afternoon sky made twilight by the looming smoke.

Winds will whip up and humidity levels will drop in Southern California this week, raising the risk for wildfires in parched areas still recovering from a recent destructive blaze