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.”

New wildfires have erupted in California as thousands of firefighters continue their work to extinguish other deadly blazes that have been raging across the Los Angeles area since last week.

The Palisades Fire has been the largest in terms of burned areas. The iconic Malibu restaurant Moonshadows was completely destroyed, as was the Palisades Branch Library. The Palisades Charter High School suffered extensive damage. Here’s an analysis of the building damage with what we know now: