At least 10 people are dead and many more injured as several fires broke out across Southern California amid historically dry and windy conditions.

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.

Wildfires are tearing through thousands of acres in Los Angeles County in California, as strong Santa Ana winds stoke the blazes.

The devastating wildfires ripping through northwest Los Angeles are still burning as firefighters respond to the threat facing southern California. Thousands of people have evacuated homes and businesses,