(NewsNation) — The Los Angeles wildfires are being fueled by what the National Weather Service said could be the strongest Santa Ana windstorm in over a decade.
Cal Fire reports the actual cause of the fires is still under investigation.
The death toll from the wildfires has risen to five, and more than 100,000 people are under evacuation orders, according to officials.
Click here to view the LAPD’s interactive evacuation zone map.
NewsNation's Chris Cuomo, who has covered wildfires for decades, says we are "nowhere near the end of it."
"The reason the fires are growing in a way that we have rarely seen is that they are each and all being turbocharged by winds that are too much for everything and everyone," Cuomo said. "Nothing fuels fire like air. ... And the air is doing the most damage. The winds caused everything that we're seeing right now."
A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire that burns in wildland vegetation, often in rural areas, according to National Geographic.
A lightning strike or a human-made spark is a common cause of wildfires. However, it is often the weather conditions that determine how much a wildfire grows, according to National Geographic.
Wind, high temperatures and little rainfall can all leave trees and limbs dried out and primed to fuel a fire. Topography plays a big part, as well, as flames burn uphill faster than they burn downhill.
In cities with roads near wildlife, such as in Southern California, it is very common for vehicles to accidentally ignite a fire, Luca Carmignani, a fire adviser from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, previously told USA TODAY.
Fires don’t usually blaze at this time of year, but specific ingredients have come together to defy the calendar in a fast and deadly manner.
Supersized Santa Ana winds are whipping flames and embers at 100 mph — much faster than normal — and cross that with the return of extreme drought. Add on weather whiplash that grew tons of plants in downpours then record high temperatures that dried them out to make easy-to-burn fuel. Then there's a plunging and unusual jet stream, and lots of power lines flapping in those powerful gusts.
Experts say that's what is turning wildfires into a deadly urban conflagration.
Summer fires are bigger usually, but they don't burn nearly as fast. Winter fires “are much more destructive because they happen much more quickly,” said U.S. Geological Survey fire scientist Jon Keeley.
AccuWeather estimated damage from the latest fires could reach $57 billion, with the private firm’s chief meteorologist, Jonathan Porter, saying “it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
