What caused the L.A. fires: How exceptional dryness, strong winds fueled the California wildfires

Prolonged drought, an exceptionally dry winter and powerful Santa Ana winds set up a dangerous triple whammy of extreme conditions that have fueled several out-of-control wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Prolonged drought, an exceptionally dry winter and powerful Santa Ana winds set up a dangerous triple whammy of extreme conditions that have fueled several out-of-control wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Fast-moving fires have engulfed the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, parts of Pasadena and Altadena, and Sylmar, north of San Fernando, with two deaths reported and more than 1,000 structures destroyed as of Wednesday.

Flames were fanned by ferocious winds whose gusts exceeded 100 mph in some places. The parched landscape across Southern California meant that any ignition was likely to become a monster blaze.

“We haven’t had any substantial rain for hundreds of days,” said Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

With climate change altering rainfall patterns and making droughts both more likely and more intense, destructive wildfires like the ones in the Los Angeles area will continue to threaten people's lives and livelihoods, Moritz said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/what-fueled-la-fires-dry-conditions-wind-rcna186801

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