Two months after the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, Cal Fire has released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for the county. The surveys use various criteria to identify wildfire hazard areas and rank them on a three-tiered scale.

Cal Fire's new maps for Southern California added 3.5 million acres into fire-hazard zones, increasing the acreage in the highest hazard zone by 26%.

More than 3.5 million additional acres across Southern California, including Los Angeles County, have been designated as fire hazard zones under updated maps released on Monday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).