A map shows where the four major wildfires in Southern California are currently burning as red flag warnings and other conditions, including high winds, place six California counties in extreme danger

A map shows the locations of all the wildfires ravaging Southern California as of Wednesday morning into the early afternoon as the National Weather Service is warning residents in six California counties to prepare for the worst.

The Palisades, Hurst, Woodley and Eaton Fires are all clustered in the northern and western regions of Los Angeles County, with some beginning to spill into neighboring counties like Ventura and San Bernardino.

The Palisades Fire is by far the biggest of the four, covering more than 5,000 acres as of early Wednesday afternoon. The Eaton Fire is the second largest, having burned through around 2,250 acres as of Wednesday morning, and it’s at 0% containment.

The areas in pink are in the highest danger of wildfires, based on National Weather Service forecasts ( 
Image:
National Weather Service)
It was the Eaton Fire that led to the d,e,ath of two civilians, it was reported, though exactly what k.il.led them remains under investigation as the authorities race to battle the blaze and figure out what sparked it.

A fifth fire reportedly broke out at one point, but it was quickly contained, the fire authorities, including the Los Angeles Fire Department, confirmed.

Harrowing wind gusts of up to 100 mph, cause by a powerful Santa Ana, were only making conditions worse on Wednesday morning, drying out the region and helping the fires expand.

A map shows the regions most impacted by the wildfires raging through Southern California ( 
Image:
State of California)
As of the latest estimates, more than 1,000 structures have been completely destroyed, including entire communities, and tens of thousands more are in danger of the same fate. Hundreds of thousands have been ordered to evacuate or risk the “significant injuries” that have already befallen several who chose to stay in areas under evacuation orders.

Red flag warnings, which indicate the possibility of fire due to dry conditions and winds, are in effect in at least seven California counties and multiple in neighboring Arizona and Nevada as well — though the risk of the current wildfires spreading to those regions is low at the moment.

But that could literally change with the wind, and more fires could easily spark if residents and visitors aren’t exceedingly careful. The six California counties at the greatest risk of the current fires spreading are Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

Counties farther away from the currently blazing wildfires are at a lower risk than those nearest to them, but, again, new fires could spring up in any of them at any time.

Flights into and out of airports and airspaces near the fires have been restricted, according to a new release by the FAA, in an effort to preserve the safety of pilots and passengers but to also help clear the airspaces for responding crews. Fire craft, however, are also grounded due to the excessively powerful winds.

Crews are hoping to get the fires contained over the next couple of days, but the conditions are proving exceedingly difficult as they attempt to accomplish that mission.