A quick scientific study finds that human-caused climate change increased the likelihood and intensity of the hot, dry and windy conditions that fanned the flames of the recent devastating Southern California wildfires.

Climate change helped to set the stage for the devastating Los Angeles fires this month, a new study by 32 researchers shows. The Palisades and Eaton wildfires broke out in early January and soon killed at least 28 people,

Thousands of firefighters have been battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. The two largest fires, the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, remain active. One of the latest, the Hughes Fire in the Castaic area, has prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people.

Here's the latest on containment for the fires burning across Southern California as firefighters work to extinguish the fires.

While the insurance cost of the devastation is estimated to be around $30 billion, another tally puts the total damage at upward of $250 billion.