At least 10 people have died across the Los Angeles area in the wildfires. Officials have said the true death toll is not known as the fires continue to burn.

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.

Raging wildfires that continue to burn a path of destruction through Southern California claimed the Will Rogers ranch along with a number of other local landmarks in what is already the most damaging fire in Los Angeles history.

Rows of cars at a dealership, blasted by flames, looked like they had been bombed. A man wearing a mask walked by debris of a neighborhood destroyed. A couple, arms around each other, looked at what was left of their smoldering home. A statue of a human, without a head, lay on a street.

The number of deceased people has increased to 10 as authorities and the medical examiner continue to respond to reported fatalities.

In Sylmar, a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, the Hurst Fire had grown to 855 acres by Thursday morning, forcing emergency evacuations in some areas. The fire was 10% contained as of Thursday morning, Cal Fire said. The Lidia Fire near Acton in Los Angeles County, sparked Wednesday afternoon.

LOS ANGELES − As multiple wildfires continue to burn through Southern California, evacuation orders remain in place throughout the region through at least Thursday. Authorities continue to investigating the causes of three wildfires that began burning in Southern California on Tuesday and two fires that sparked north of Los Angeles and in Hollywood on Wednesday.