AKIPRESS.COM - In a hopeful sign, thousands of firefighters were making headway Tuesday against the vast Thomas Fire in Southern California, with winds decreasing to 15 to 25 mph and the Santa Ana wind event beginning to wane.

The blaze, which is larger than New York City, was about 25% contained Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, CNN reported.

In addition to diminishing winds, "red flag warnings" are now confined to the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and cover just over 1 million residents. At the peak of the wildfires last week, the warnings -- which signal extreme fire danger -- covered nearly 20 million people.

The outlook for rain, however, remains grim. It's expected to stay dry for at least seven days, and another significant wind event could develop by next weekend, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

The wind was cooperating with firefighters Monday and pushing the fire away from nearby communities, Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason told CNN. The breezes had also cleared the air somewhat, leading to improved visibility for fire crews.