There are currently several large wildfires burning in Southern California, in and around the Greater Los Angeles area, fueled by dry conditions and an intense heat wave. The Airport Fire, the Bridge Fire, and the Line Fire have each burned tens of thousands of acres in the mountains and wilderness and are encroaching on more populated areas, forcing thousands to evacuate. Gathered below are images from the past week of these destructive fires and those affected by them. See also “The Line Fire Is Too Close to L.A. for Comfort,” by Caroline Mimbs Nyce.
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A giant pyrocumulus cloud rises above the Bridge Fire, which is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains behind downtown Los Angeles, on September 10, 2024.
#Ted Soqui / Sipa USA / Reuters
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A house burns, enveloped by the Airport Fire, in El Cariso Village along Ortega Highway, in Orange County, California, on September 10, 2024.
#Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / Getty
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A firefighting helicopter battles the Line Fire on September 8, 2024, in San Bernardino, California.
#Qian Weizhong / VCG / Getty
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The Line Fire slows for the evening after a sudden late-season monsoon rainstorm temporarily halted its 4,000-foot-elevation climb up to the edge of mountain communities, on September 7, 2024, near Running Springs, California.
#David McNew / Getty
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A resident stops to watch the Airport Fire burn near his home as he evacuates his dogs in the Santa Ana Mountains, in Orange County, California, on September 10, 2024.
#Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / Getty
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Thick smoke rises from a wildfire burning near a residential area, on September 10, 2024, in Irvine, California.
#Qian Weizhong / VCG / Getty
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A wildfire-prevention sign stands in front of the raging Airport Fire on September 11, 2024.
#Jon Putman / SOPA Images / Reuters
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Trees are consumed by the Bridge Fire near Wrightwood, California, on September 11, 2024.
#Jae C. Hong / AP
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A helicopter refills to make water drops as the Bridge Fire explodes in size from 2,995 acres to 46,727 acres in single day, racing up the San Gabriel Mountains toward the ski-resort community of Wrightwood, on September 10, 2024, near Glendora, California.
#David McNew / Getty
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Fountain Valley firefighters battle a house fire along El Cariso Road as the Airport Fire burns in the Santa Ana Mountains, in Orange County, on September 10, 2024.
#Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / Getty
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A person moves horses into a trailer as the Airport Fire closes in on September 10, 2024, in El Cariso, an unincorporated community in Riverside County, California.
#Etienne Laurent / AP
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Embers float from a tree under a starry sky as the Line Fire slows for the evening after a sudden storm temporarily slowed its progress on September 7, 2024, near Running Springs, California.
#David McNew / Getty
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The Bridge Fire explodes in size from 2,995 acres to 46,727 acres in single day, racing up the San Gabriel Mountains toward the ski-resort community of Wrightwood, on September 10, 2024, near Glendora, California.
#David McNew / Getty
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A gray fox flees flames as the Bridge Fire burns nearby on September 10, 2024, near Glendora, California.
#David McNew / Getty
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A plume of smoke created by the Airport Fire rises over mountains, seen beyond a group playing soccer in Irvine, California, on September 10, 2024.
#Eugene Garcia / AP
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A satellite image of the Line Fire in Angeles National Forest, California. Smoke plumes are clearly visible, affecting air quality in Los Angeles.
#Gallo Images / Orbital Horizon / Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024 / Getty
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The Airport Fire burns along a hillside as residents watch from the shoreline in Lake Elsinore, California, on September 10, 2024.
#Mike Blake / Reuters
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A Lake Elsinore house seen in the path of the oncoming Airport Fire on September 11, 2024
#Jon Putman / SOPA Images / Reuters
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An aerial tanker combats the Airport Fire in the hills of Orange County, California, on September 9, 2024.
#Mike Blake / Reuters
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Vehicles burn in the Airport Fire in El Cariso Village, in Orange County, on September 10, 2024
#Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / Getty
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Firefighters are illuminated by the glow of the Bridge Fire in Wrightwood, California, on September 10, 2024.
#Jae C. Hong / AP
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People look on as the Airport Fire burns in the hills of Orange County, California, on September 9, 2024.
#Mike Blake / Reuters
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