More than a dozen wildfires developed and have been sweeping through Los Angeles in California, consuming tens of thousands of acres of land and devastating some of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in the US.

As firefighters battle to contain the wildfires that have developed, at least 24 people have died, while tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate and thousands of properties have been razed to the ground.

The disaster has received widespread attention across international media, covering the scale of the damage through to the causes of the fires – and the political spats they have triggered.

Both US president Joe Biden and his Californian vice-president Kamala Harris made the link between climate change and the wildfires that have developed.

Meanwhile, many scientists have pointed to “climate whiplash” – rapid switches from wet to dry conditions that are becoming more common in a warmer climate – as a factor in the scale of the devastation.

Many outlets have highlighted misleading claims by right-wing commentators about the Los Angeles fire department, as well as statements from incoming president Donald Trump casting blame on California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.

A number of outlets have also explored the impact of the wildfires – which have already been dubbed the costliest in US history – on the state’s already-fragile property insurance market.

In this article, Carbon Brief examines the role of climate change in the Los Angeles wildfires and how the media has covered the disaster.

How Did the Wildfires Develop Around Los Angeles?

Over the course of just a week in early January, multiple fires erupted in and around Los Angeles in southern California.

The first – and what became the largest – wildfire was the Palisades fire. This was first reported at around 10:30am on Tuesday 7 January and quickly spread, explained the Washington Post, “as winds gust[ed] to about 50 mph in the area”.

The Financial Times reported that more than 29,000 acres [11,174 hectares] were burned on Tuesday in Palisades, “an affluent coastal community with some of the most expensive property in the US”. With thousands of homes at risk, evacuation orders were issued for around 30,000 people, according to the newspaper.

Read the full article about the wildfires in Los Angeles at Carbon Brief.