Even as four wildfires continued to burn in Los Angeles County Wednesday, the blazes were already rewriting the record books.

The Palisades and Eaton fires tear through homes and leave at least five dead. Smaller fires also add to state of alert in Los Angeles County.

Southern California fires are only a fraction of the size of the state's largest blazes historically but could be the most destructive ever.

We explain what’s known about how the catastrophic L.A. wildfires started and the factors that scientists do -- and don’t -- think contributed.

Many Californians thought wildfires couldn’t reach deep into their cities. But the Los Angeles fires showed how older homes became fuel that fed the fires.

T housands of personnel—firefighters, first responders, and the National Guard—have turned their attention towards stifling the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires, some of the worst California has ever seen.

Many factors, such as strong Santa Ana winds and urban planning decisions, played into the recent destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles area. But the evidence is clear that climate change contribut

But while the January fires rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, they have not been as damaging as others in the Golden State. They are among only some of the worst wildfires California has ever seen.

The Los Angeles-area blazes, which authorities say have killed at least 16 people, have leveled homes, businesses and schools at an alarming speed. Among the areas hardest hit is Pacific Palisades, an affluent neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles that the Beach Boys referred to in “Surfin’ USA,” their 1963 ode to sunny coastal California life.

This happens throughout the world whenever there is a major fire near an urban area, and is also common in Australia. Poor access to water was a common occurrence during the worst days of Black Summer, for example at Batemans Bay in NSW on New Years Eve 2019.

The Palisades and Eaton fires are now among the most destructive in California’s history in terms of the number of structures destroyed, according to Cal Fire.