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.

Major fires across Los Angeles this week have killed at least five people, forced 180,000 to flee their homes, and destroyed thousands of structures

Multiple wildfires, including the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, are raging across Southern California Friday, leaving at least 10 dead and burning more than 10,000 homes across 27,000 acres, officials say.

As fires spread across Southern California, Trump urged Newsom to send in water from Northern California despite some experts saying water supply is not the problem.