Wildfires are raging across several areas of Los Angeles, with strong winds and extremely dry conditions driving their advance across thousands of acres of land.
The most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history have devastated neighborhoods, forced desperate evacuations and threatened wealthy and iconic parts of the city and appear far from contained as firefighters battle high winds and dry conditions.
So far, firefighters have not been able to contain several of them.
The largest fire, in the Pacific Palisades area, where many celebrities live, is the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles. More than 5,300 buildings have been destroyed.
Among the buildings already destroyed are many of the exclusive properties that line the Malibu boardwalk.
Three fires have been contained.
Woodley Fire: A small fire was reported in a local park. Burned area: 30 acres.
Olivas Fire: A small fire first reported in Ventura County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. Burned area: 11 acres.
Dusk Fire: Reported in the historic Hollywood Hills area, near many famous landmarks, including the Hollywood Sign. Burned area: 43 acres.
Five fires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area.
Palisades Fire: The largest active fire burns between Santa Monica and Malibu. Burned area: more than 20,000 hectares. More than 5,300 structures destroyed. At least 30,000 people were evacuated.
Eaton Fire: The second largest fire burning north of Pasadena. Burned area: at least 13,690 acres. Potentially more than 4,000 structures damaged or destroyed. Five deaths were reported.
Hurst Fire: Northeast of the city. Burned area: 850 acres.
Lidia Fire: Reported in the hills north of Los Angeles. Burned area: 350 acres.
Kenneth Fire: In the West Hills area, just north of the Palisades. It started Thursday afternoon and has burned 960 acres so far.
How did the fire spread?
The Palisades fire spread and intensified within hours. Shortly after 2:00 p.m. Tuesday it covered 772 acres and within four hours had approximately tripled in size.
It now covers almost 20,000 acres and thousands of people have been forced to evacuate the area, while more than 1,400 firefighters try to battle the blaze.
The Eaton Fire has also grown rapidly from about 1,000 acres on Tuesday to more than 13,000 acres, forcing thousands more people to flee.
The largest fires have burned thousands of buildings. As the maps below show, around 20,000 buildings may have already been damaged or destroyed in the two largest fires, and many more could be at risk depending on how the fires spread.
Where do the fires burn?
Five fires threaten Los Angeles area residents to the north, east and west.
The largest and most destructive fire, the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Coast, had burned more than 17,000 acres and was 0 percent contained as of Thursday afternoon, according to Cal Fire. The fire forced evacuations along the Pacific Coast Highway, including Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Santa Monica.
The next largest fire is to the east: the Eaton Fire, burning north of the city of Pasadena in the San Gabriel Mountains. It has burned more than 10,000 acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and placed tens of thousands of people under evacuation orders. An official said Thursday that the fire's growth had “stopped significantly,” although the fire was still 0 percent contained.
North of the Palisades Fire and west of the Eaton Fire, the Hurst Fire in the San Fernando Valley has spread to more than 800 acres. And in the Angeles National Forest, a vast area spread between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Sierra Pelona, ​​firefighters managed to contain 40 percent of the Lidia Fire, which has consumed more than 300 acres.
The Sunset Fire, which broke out Wednesday in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills and threatened landmarks such as the Hollywood Bowl and the TCL Chinese Theatre, was fully contained Thursday after consuming 43 acres.
How many houses have been destroyed?
Preliminary reports indicate that the Palisades fire has damaged or destroyed thousands of structures, officials said Thursday.
If confirmed, the Palisades Fire would rank among the five most destructive fires in California history. Residences in these areas include iconic mansions on cliffs rising above the Pacific, as well as homes in beachside neighborhoods.
The Eaton fire has burned more than 1,000 buildings, officials said. The flames had severely damaged at least part of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, which has been in operation for more than a century.
The extent of damage caused by the other fires is still unclear.
Have there been fatalities?
Authorities have confirmed that the Eaton fire killed at least five people. But the death toll will likely be higher, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
“Frankly, we don't know yet,” he said of the death toll.
While no deaths have been reported from the Palisades Fire, some firefighters suffered injuries while battling the blaze.
And there have been a “large number of significant injuries” among people who did not evacuate their homes when they were supposed to because of that fire, said Anthony C. Marrone, Los Angeles County Fire Chief.
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Why did these large fires break out at the same time?
Forecasters had warned for days of damaging wind gusts that would reach 50 to 80 mph, and even more than 100 mph in the mountains. The winds, combined with dry air, created a critical fire event in Southern California. The hills are also covered with vegetation after two rainy winters that preceded this one.
Late fall and winter tend to bring catastrophic fires in California. In periods without significant rainfall, as has happened this winter, the vegetation becomes extremely dry. And the cooler weather in California coincides with the Santa Ana winds, the strong, dry gusts that blow west from Nevada and Utah toward Southern California and are linked to the region's most devastating fires.
The deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, which destroyed the Northern California town of Paradise, broke out in mid-November 2018.
Are fires expected to continue increasing?
The Santa Ana winds that fueled the rapidly spreading fires eased slightly Thursday morning, allowing firefighters to continue aerial operations and make gradual progress against some of the fires. New water supplies replenished fire hydrants that ran dry in some areas due to excessive demand at the start of the battle against the fires.
However, the most destructive fires remain out of control. City and county firefighters said their priority is saving lives and protecting property, rather than establishing containment lines.