Strong winds over the next day will create dangerous conditions as several major wildfires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area. About 88,000 people remained under evacuation orders Tuesday morning because of the fires. But another 84,800 have been warned that they might be ordered to evacuate.

Containing wildfires—never mind extinguishing them—in parched and windy conditions can be monstrously difficult. Dry vegetation is rocket fuel for blazes and wind both feeds the flames and spreads the embers. “The winds are like pointing an air blower at a fireplace,” says Gershunov, “except it’s not contained and it’s on a much larger scale.”

Teams combating deadly wildfires in Los Angeles have received offers of assistance from around the world, but claims that a video shows South African firefighters singing in an airport as they make their way to California are false.

Aerial view of wildfires in the Los Angeles area Credit: ABC7 Los Angeles Live aerial view of the wildfires in the Los Angeles area. The blazes have killed at least 24 people so far and destroyed thousands of homes.

Aerial footage shows a charred forest in the Palisades area of Los Angeles, highlighting extensive wildfire damage. At least 24 people have died in what California Governor Gavin Newsom called the most devastating natural disaster in U.