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.

Lynne Levin-Guzman stood in the front yard of her 90-year old parents’ home in Los Angeles County, California, trying to protect it with a garden hose — because their insurance company no longer would.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back at President-elect Trump after a day-long back-and-forth over the California wildfire response.

As several fires spread across Southern California, President-elect Donald Trump is pointing fingers, blaming policies from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden for causing the outbreak.