But is the main victim the truth? Two dozen fires have devastated Los Angeles, the beating heart of US cultural life. Even while they blaze, the record is already being rewritten.
‘The costliest disaster in US history’
Wasteland: Entire neighbourhoods of Los Angeles have been wiped out by multiple fires, with TV personalities Paris Hilton and Heidi Montag, songwriter Diane Warren, actors Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson and Anna Faris and comedian Rosie O'Donnell among the celebrities losing their homes. Glossary
Nero - Emperor from 54 AD to 68 AD.
Scapegoat - A person who is made to take the blame for the wrongdoings of others. The term originates from a ceremony during the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, in which the sins of the people were symbolically placed upon a goat. The goat was then sent into the wilderness.
Drought - A time when there is not enough water and the ground is very dry.
California - A large state on the west coast of the USA. It is the country's most populous state, with more than 37 million people. First settled by Native Americans as much as 13,000 years ago, the area was subsequently conquered by Spain, then was absorbed into Mexico, which was forced to hand it over to the USA in 1848.
Gavin Newsom - An American politician, and the governor of California. He belongs to the Democratic party.
Misinformation - Incorrect or misleading information unintentionally presented as fact. It can be contrasted with disinformation or deliberate lies.
Democrats - Members of the Democratic party, the left-leaning US political party. Joe Biden and Barack Obama are both Democrats.
Liberals - Liberalism is a school of political thought that stresses individual liberty. Liberals believe that society should not try to impose values or behaviours on individuals but should be tolerant of different lifestyles.
Republicans - People who believe a country should not have a king or queen, or in the US, members of the Republican party.
Disinformation - False information intended to mislead, including propaganda, which all too often encourages the spread of misinformation, fake news spread by mistake. It is contrasted with misinformation, which may be spread accidentally.
Partisan - Biased. In military terms, a partisan is a guerrilla fighter.