(NewsNation) — Several fast-moving wildfires continue to devastate the Los Angeles area, and investigators are working around the clock to figure out exactly what sparked the ferocious blazes.
Thousands of acres have been scorched as wildfires continue to rip through parts of Los Angeles County. Five people have died, according to Nicole Nishida, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Officials said 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders because of the fires, and thousands have been displaced.
What do we know about the start of the LA-area fires?
Little is still known about how the fires started but the Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed to NewsNation that the Kenneth Fire is now being investigated as an arson case, and one person is in custody.
Threatening homes near Calabasas and Hidden Hills, the Kenneth Fire is just one among five wildfires ravaging LA County.
Investigators believe the fire may have been set on purpose, and it was citizens who helped detain the suspect. LAPD Senior Lead Officer Sean Dinse informed NewsNation’s Brian Entin that one person is in custody.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the penalty for the suspected arsonist could be as high as homicide and could result in life in prison.
“Justice will be swift. It will be firm, and the maximum punishment will be sought,” Hochman said on “Banfield.”
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TOPSHOT – A brush fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisades, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as “life threatening” winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke. (Photo by David Swanson / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images) -
A house in on fire as residents try to escape the site in Pacific Palisades, California, Los Angeles, United States on January 8, 2025. A fast-moving wildfire has forced 30,000 people to evacuate, with officials warning that worsening winds could further escalate the blaze. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES – JANUARY 09: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘OFFICIAL FLICKR ACCOUNT OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) Fire destroys buildings and vegetation as flames rage across Los Angeles, California, United States on January 09, 2025. (Photo by Official Flickr Account of CAL FIRE / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images) -
A firefighter fights the flames from the Palisades fire burning the Theatre Palisades during a powerful windstorm on Jan. 8 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 8: A firefighter stands on top of a fire truck to battle the Palisades Fire while it burns homes on the Pacific Coast Highway amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The fast-moving wildfire has grown to more than 2900-acres and is threatening homes in the coastal neighborhood amid intense Santa Ana Winds and dry conditions in Southern California. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images) -
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 7: Strong winds blow embers from homes burning in the Eaton Fire on January 7, 2025 in Pasadena, California. A powerful Santa Ana wind event has dramatically raised the danger of wind-driven wildfires such as the dangerous and destructive Palisades Fire near Santa Monica. The strong winds also forced President Joe Biden to cancel his plan to travel between Los Angeles and Riverside, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) -
A fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 7. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Los Angeles Fire Department’s arson investigation team is currently investigating all the fires, Margaret Stewart, Los Angeles Fire Department public information officer, told NewsNation on Thursday.
Online chatter, including from Elon Musk, has circulated speculation that arson could also be the cause of the Sunset fire that sparked in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, but authorities have not confirmed.
“The cause of the fire will be investigated. Whether that’s arson or not, that is to be determined,” she said. “Our arson investigators are the ones that investigate the cause of the fire. That doesn’t mean that it’s an arson fire, it’s a cause investigation.”
Though it’s unclear what started the fires, it is more clear how they spread so quickly.
Weather conditions 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.
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, coupled with a prolonged drought in the area.
“It’s been bone dry from about Santa Barbara southward, only a few sprinkles since last season. So we’re going on 9 to 10 months now without meaningful rain,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, told NewsNation affiliate KTLA.
What is being done to find out the cause of the LA fires?
Stewart said the fire department is employing all resources to stop the fires and determine their cause, but winds have been challenging.
“The wind conditions that we are facing prevented us from being able to use all of our resources in the way that we would aim to use them, specifically our air assets. Since yesterday morning, all of our fast air assets have been working, and we’ve been in 24-hour operations, and so that will continue,” she said.
How long could the fires last?
While some of the five separate fires have been contained, it is still unknown how long the larger ones could last.
The Sunset fire is “under control,” Stewart said, adding that there are no more evacuations in the areas affected.
The Woodley fire, which has burned 30 acres, is “controlled,” and the Lidia Fire was 40% contained by Thursday morning.
But it could be days and even weeks before the monstrous Palisades fire is taken down. As of Wednesday afternoon, the rapidly moving wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area has spread to more than 17,234 acres.
