Los Angeles, California - More than a week after the fires that devastated the Los Angeles area broke out, firefighting teams are finally making headway.

The Eaton Fire near Pasadena, which claimed seventeen of the 25 fatalities confirmed by local authorities so far, was nearly 50% contained as of Wednesday.

The Palisades Fire, which has burned across a wide area, has also barely spread at all in recent days, according to local authorities.

According to initial estimates, more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed or damaged in the area.

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The weather forecast for the next few days – with decreasing winds and falling temperatures – was finally giving cause for hope that the most acute phase of the emergency may be over.

The majority of red fire warnings in place across affected areas were set to expire on Wednesday evening, the weather service in LA said.

Around 82,000 people remained under evacuation orders, said County Sheriff Robert Luna. Resentment has growing among residents, many of whom left their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs. The burnt-out areas remain cordoned off and no date has been set for residents to return to home.

Meanwhile, the LA district attorney and police again called for the harshest possible punishment for anyone trying to exploit the disaster.

At the beginning of the week, LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman filed charges against 10 people accused of looting, burglary, and arson. Two other suspected arsonists have been detained, authorities said on Wednesday. According to Hochman, they set small fires during the fire emergency east of Los Angeles.

LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said two more people had been arrested on arson charges.

One was a man who "admitted to starting the fire because he likes the smell of burning leaves," McDonnell said in a news conference, adding that the other was a woman who "admitted to setting multiple fires that day and stated that she enjoyed causing chaos and destruction."