When the air is warm and dry, transpiration and evaporation also suck water out of the plants and soil. That leaves dry vegetation that can provide fuel for flying embers to spread wildfires, as the Los Angeles area saw in early January.

Raging wildfires that continue to burn a path of destruction through Southern California claimed the Will Rogers ranch along with a number of other local landmarks in what is already the most damaging fire in Los Angeles history.

In Sylmar, a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, the Hurst Fire had grown to 855 acres by Thursday morning, forcing emergency evacuations in some areas. The fire was 10% contained as of Thursday morning, Cal Fire said. The Lidia Fire near Acton in Los Angeles County, sparked Wednesday afternoon.