Thursday, 10:30 a.m. PST The Palisades Fire’s containment jumped to 22% while Cal Fire reported 55% containment for the Eaton Fire, 98% containment for the Hurst Fire and 85% containment for the Auto Fire (only a few red flag warnings remain in effect for parts of Los Angeles County and adjacent regions).

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.”