At least five wildfires are ravaging Southern California, and the three largest have already killed at least five people, burned tens of thousands of acres and prompted the evacuation of an estimated 179,

The devastating fires that have killed at least five people and forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of residents across the Los Angeles region are driven by Santa Ana winds that blow from the deserts of interior California and Nevada out to the Pacific Ocean.

The winds are common in California in the colder months, but they can sometimes help spread dangerous wildfires.