Natalie Kitroff

I wonder if that's going to change how people who live in these communities see their home.

I wonder if that's going to change how people who live in these communities see their home.

This fire, it sounds like, was just big enough and violent enough, fast enough to make everyone in L.A. feel like they were living in one place that is threatened by the same forces.

This fire, it sounds like, was just big enough and violent enough, fast enough to make everyone in L.A. feel like they were living in one place that is threatened by the same forces.

Karina, thank you.

Karina, thank you.

After the break, Time's meteorologist Judson Jones on how these fires started and why they're so hard to control.

After the break, Time's meteorologist Judson Jones on how these fires started and why they're so hard to control.

Judson, we just heard from our colleague Karina, who's on the ground in L.A. and who described the devastation caused by these fires encircling Los Angeles. You're our staff meteorologist. So we want to ask you to help us understand how these fires started and why they've spread so quickly.

Judson, we just heard from our colleague Karina, who's on the ground in L.A. and who described the devastation caused by these fires encircling Los Angeles. You're our staff meteorologist. So we want to ask you to help us understand how these fires started and why they've spread so quickly.

These winds can create havoc. Judson, I want to just pause for a minute on the Santa Ana winds. I think generally people may have a vague idea of what these winds are, but help us understand what this actually looks like.

These winds can create havoc. Judson, I want to just pause for a minute on the Santa Ana winds. I think generally people may have a vague idea of what these winds are, but help us understand what this actually looks like.

Okay, so how does all of this, these parched conditions, the Santa Ana winds, come together over the past 48 hours or so to create these fires? Yeah.

Okay, so how does all of this, these parched conditions, the Santa Ana winds, come together over the past 48 hours or so to create these fires? Yeah.

It's amazing to hear the actual, you know, 100 mile an hour wind figure. What does that do to a spark, to an ember?

It's amazing to hear the actual, you know, 100 mile an hour wind figure. What does that do to a spark, to an ember?

We're talking about a hurricane of a fire here, basically. Yeah.

We're talking about a hurricane of a fire here, basically. Yeah.

I have to ask Judson just about how fire-prone this area is in general. I mean, there are places across Southern California that we've come to think of as places that just burn based on these recurring conditions. Is that the case here?

I have to ask Judson just about how fire-prone this area is in general. I mean, there are places across Southern California that we've come to think of as places that just burn based on these recurring conditions. Is that the case here?