State authorities previously listed the Palisades as one of the five Southern California areas with the highest concentration of potential wildfire risks. The community also is among the areas most impacted by an unavailability of insurance coverage.

Out-of-control wildfires are ripping across parts of Los Angeles, leading to at least five deaths, burning down hundreds of buildings, and prompting more than 130,000 people to flee their homes in America's second-largest city.

National Geographic's staff photographer—who has decades of experience covering wildfires—weighs in on why the latest fires are so devastating.