Firefighters held the line against two massive wildfires that have ravaged parts of Los Angeles for the past week, even as desert winds and a parched landscape presented extremely hazardous conditions.

Containing wildfires—never mind extinguishing them—in parched and windy conditions can be monstrously difficult. Dry vegetation is rocket fuel for blazes and wind both feeds the flames and spreads the embers. “The winds are like pointing an air blower at a fireplace,” says Gershunov, “except it’s not contained and it’s on a much larger scale.”