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).

The number of acres in the top two fire zones that must comply with stiffer, fire-safe building codes increased 76% in Southern California areas protected by local firefighters, new state hazard maps released Monday,

Cal Fire has released updated fire hazard severity zone maps for Southern California, aiding wildfire preparedness.