Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, a series of ferocious wildfires erupted last week and roared across the Los Angeles area.

We explain what’s known about how the catastrophic L.A. wildfires started and the factors that scientists do -- and don’t -- think contributed.

The Los Angeles-area blazes, which authorities say have killed at least 16 people, have leveled homes, businesses and schools at an alarming speed. Among the areas hardest hit is Pacific Palisades, an affluent neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles that the Beach Boys referred to in “Surfin’ USA,” their 1963 ode to sunny coastal California life.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has confirmed 27 deaths, a toll that rose after structure-to-structure searches by authorities.

The Palisades and Eaton fires continue to burn in California – already ranking as some of the most destructive in the state’s history. The fires have killed at least 24 people, put millions at risk for unhealthy air quality and some estimates for the damages are in the billions of dollars.

Billion-dollar losses, buyers scrambling to find homes and the question of how and when to rebuild. A look at where things stand now and how the market might move forward.

Wildfires in Los Angeles are being driven by climate change, not political mismanagement, and California’s leaders have taken meaningful steps to address the issue, but the sheer scale of

Even as four wildfires continued to burn in Los Angeles County Wednesday, the blazes were already rewriting the record books.

The Palisades and Eaton fires are now among the most destructive in California’s history in terms of the number of structures destroyed, according to Cal Fire.

Fanned by strong winds, the wildfires have killed at least 24 people and swept through 40,000 acres in the Greater Los Angeles area.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that waives building permits to help Los Angeles rebuild faster following devastating wildfires.