Maps: Tracking Southern California Wildfires
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Major fires driven by fierce winds have devastated parts of Southern California for more than two weeks. At least 28 people have died, thousands were forced to evacuate and thousands of buildings have burned. The two largest fires are still not fully contained, and new ones continue to ignite.
Palisades fire was the first major one to break out on Tuesday, Jan. 7. It has since charred over 23,000 acres, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. In total, fires have burned through about 40,000 acres in the Los Angeles area.
More recent outbreaks have grown quickly: Hughes fire, which ignited on Wednesday, swelled to over 5,000 acres in slightly more than two hours.
As emergency responders continue to tackle blazes in the Los Angeles area, several small yet worrisome fires began in the San Diego area this week, including some that prompted evacuations.
The high risk of fire continues, though the potential for rain over the weekend could ease that risk — before dry, windy conditions possibly return next week.
For now, tens of thousands of people remain under evacuation orders or warnings.
As winds push wildfire smoke across the Los Angeles area, air quality has become hazardous in many places at times. Here is where smoke is expected to migrate in the coming hours:
The powerful winds fueling the wildfires are known as the Santa Ana winds, which flow out of the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah toward the Southern California coast. These winds push dry desert air over the mountains and accelerate as they blow into canyons and valleys.
This map shows wind conditions on Jan. 22 and areas that have burned since the latest fires began.