Los Angeles fires: Catastrophic weather conditions drive firestorms across Southern California

Devastating firestorms that burned across Southern California on Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 homes, killing at least five people, and causing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, are the result of a deadly combination of weather events that came together at the wrong time for the Los Angeles area.

Northern California has seen a relatively normal rainy season this winter, while Southern California has remained record dry, experts noted Wednesday. Since Oct. 1, San Francisco’s...