Firefighters believe Palisades fire started from small blaze that may have reignited due to hurricane-force winds

As Los Angeles grapples with the aftermath of the devastating fires that killed dozens and laid waste to entire neighborhoods, the potential causes of the disasters are beginning to come into focus.

The siege of wildfires, sparked amid powerful Santa Ana winds earlier this month, created chaos around the city for weeks. They scorched around 60 sq miles (155 sq km) of the city, destroying the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, and killed at least 29 people. Preliminary estimates of the economic losses have exceeded $250bn. Firefighters have only recently managed to achieve near containment of the fires, and residents begin returning to what remains of their communities, looking for answers.