In a state that averages more than 7,500 wildfires a year some California homeowners keep helmets and fire hoses handy. However, the Los Angeles fires demonstrate a new reality: Wildfires in the state are growing larger and more ferocious and burning into suburbs and cities more often, experts told USA TODAY.

At least 28 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across Southern California.