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.

See maps of where evacuation orders and warnings are in place for three wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area.

Updating maps of Southern California show where wildfires, like the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fires, are burning across Los Angeles.

The Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Lidia Fire and Sunset Fire are burning in Los Angeles County. Here's where.