LA wildfires: What caused the inferno that has already destroyed 10,000 properties?

In Los Angeles, multiple wildfires have been burning for days, with firefighters fighting a helpless battle as winds hitting 100 miles (160 kilometres) an hour flung fireballs from house to house, reducing whole streets to ashes. The disastrous inferno has already claimed the lives of 11 people and has destroyed around 10,000 buildings. But what caused it?

Investigators as per reports are considering an array of possible things including arson that could've ignited the huge fires. 

On Thursday (Jan 9), the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) took into custody a homeless man on suspicion of arson. The man, as per reports, is believed to have intentionally lighted the Kenneth fire which is tearing through Los Angeles' West Hills at a rapid rate. He was arrested after residents reported seeing a man attempting to start a fire.

However, police are yet to confirm if he is in fact behind the fire.

In Los Angeles, there are at least five wildfires raging in different areas, of which the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire are the largest.

As per the National Fire Protection Association, lightning is the most common source of forest fires in the US. However, this was quickly ruled out by investigators as there was no report of lighting in the Palisades or the terrain around Eaton, reported AP news agency.

Fires sparked by utility lines apart from blazes set intentionally are the next probable reason. As per AP, utility fires are yet to be identified as the reason behind the massive wildfires.

Terrie Prosper, communications director of California Public Utilities Commission, told AP that utilities are required to report any “electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire”. 

South California Edison, which serves the Eaton area, in a report filed with the CPUC on Fridays, said that it has not registered any interruptions to its service.

“Preliminary analysis by SCE of electrical circuit information for the energized transmission lines going through the area for 12 hours prior to the reported start time of the fire shows no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire,” it said.

Accidental fires caused by debris burning or fireworks could also be behind the disastrous wildfires.

However, investigators are yet to establish what exactly caused the LA wildfires.

According to scientists, human-caused climate change is behind the altering weather patterns that are exacerbating the disaster. 

Years of drought, followed by unusually wet seasons that spurred rampant vegetation growth, have left the region primed to burn.

Meteorologist Daniel Swain noted the unprecedented dryness over recent months, combined with extreme winds, is a key driver of the fires. 

“The winds are the driver, but the real catalyst… is this incredible antecedent dryness,” Swain explained.

“The lack of rain and the anomalous warmth and dryness that we've seen the past six months. That's something that we haven't seen in records going back to the 1800s.”