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.

Here's a look at the latest maps of the five active Southern California wildfires and what containment means when it comes to fighting fires.

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.