The largest firesstartedon January 7 and devastated swathes of L.A., including Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Taken together, the two blazes burned 37,000 acres (150 square kilometers).
Atmospheric rivers areregular occurrenceson the west coast, especially the Pacific Northwest.
A map of LA County showing areas of vegetative buildup.Image: Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and soil moisture data from NASA’s Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center
The rivers dump rainfall over an area over an extended period of time, often causingflooding and landslides.
But the wetness also quenched the thirst of plants, as shown in the map above.
Vegetation built up across L.A. Countyup to 30% more than average in some parts of townin summer 2024.
A map of soil moisture in LA County.
During the second half of 2024 conditions rapidly changed.
In the map above, the dryness of the soil is laid bare.
The map reflects soil moisture conditions on January 7the day the two largest wildfires started.
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