Raging wildfires have surrounded Los Angeles, killing at least five people, destroying hundreds of homes and stretching firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit, as more than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate.
Hurricane-force winds hindered firefighting operations and spread the fires on Wednesday, which have burned unimpeded since they began a day earlier.
But instead of packing hurricane-like humidity, the dry wind fanned the flames over already parched terrain, and the two most dangerous fires continued to grow as the sun set on Wednesday, officials said.
A new fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a press conference, forcing more evacuations and raising to six the number of wildfires burning in Los Angeles County.
All of them were 0 per cent contained according to state officials, including a pair of conflagrations that held the city in a pincer move.
On the west side, the Palisades Fire consumed 6400 hectares and 1000 structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. It was already one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history.
To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eaton Fire claimed another 4300 hectares, another 1000 structures, and killed at least five people, officials said.
Even though forecasters said winds would subside on Wednesday night, so-called red flag conditions were expected to remain until Friday.
Nearly one million homes and businesses lost power in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us. School was cancelled throughout Los Angeles County at least through Thursday.
Besides the two major fires, four smaller fires in the county stretched firefighting resources that had already been exhausted.
Nestled in the hills with spectacular ocean views, Pacific Palisades is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the country with a typical home valued at $US3.7 million ($A6.0 million) as of the end of 2023, according to Zillow, more than all but four other zip codes in the United States.
It is also home to many film, television and music stars including Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore and Mark Hamill, all forced to flee their homes.
With the so-called Sunset Fire burning in Hollywood Hills late on Wednesday, the LA fire department issued an evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard on the south, Mulholland Drive on the north, the 101 Freeway on the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard on west – all iconic addresses for people in the entertainment industry.
The fires struck at an especially vulnerable time for Southern California, which has yet to see significant rainfall since the start of the water year in October.
Then came the powerful Santa Ana winds, bringing dry desert air from the east toward the coastal mountains, fanning the flames of the wildfires while blowing over the hilltops and down through the canyons.
Scientists said the fires, erupting well outside of the traditional wildfire season, mark the latest in weather extremes that are likely to escalate further as global temperatures continue to climb in coming decades.
President Joe Biden, who stayed put in Los Angeles after Air Force One was grounded due to high winds on Tuesday, joined California Governor Gavin Newsom at a Santa Monica fire station to get a briefing firefighting efforts.
“The impacts of (the fires include) over one thousand structures already destroyed, a hundred-plus thousand people that have been evacuated, lives lost, traditions, lifestyles, places torn asunder,” said Newsom, who declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.
Biden declared a major disaster for California and pledged any help he could provide in his final days in office before handing off to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
“We’re doing anything and everything and as long as it takes to contain these fires … to make sure you get back to normal,” Biden said. “It’s going to be a hell of a long way. It’s going to take time.”
