Raging wildfires surrounding Los Angeles have spread to the Hollywood Hills, as five other fires killed at least five people and destroyed hundreds of homes today.
Firefighting resources and water supplies were stretched to the limit, as more than 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate and over 2000 structures were burned.
Fierce winds hindered firefighting efforts and fuelled the fires, which have burned unimpeded since they began on Tuesday.
All but one of the fires were classed as 0% contained according to state officials, including a pair of conflagrations on the eastern and western flanks of the city, which continued to grow as night fell.
On the west side, the Palisades Fire consumed 6406 hectares and 1000 structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the natural fire break of the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. It was already one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history.
In between, what has been labelled as the 'Sunset Fire' in Hollywood Hills doubled in size within minutes to 8.1 hectares and has since reached 50ha, Cal Fire said.
The LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard to the south, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west - all iconic addresses for people in the entertainment industry.
Within that area is the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars are held. Next week's Oscar nominations announcement was already postponed by two days because of the fire, organizers said.
Though relatively small compared to the others, the Sunset Fire burned just above Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame. It would need to cross the 101 Freeway to endanger the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory further up in the hills.
"We're facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can't be stated strong enough," Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, told a news conference on Wednesday.
The skies above Los Angeles glowed red in some areas and were blanketed by thick smoke. Nearly 1 million homes and businesses lost power in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us.
"The wind whipped up, the flames were up about 30 or 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) high, and you hear 'pop, pop, pop'. It sounded like a warzone," Kevin Williams, an Eaton Fire evacuee, told Reuters at an evacuation centre in Pasadena, describing gas canisters at his neighbours' homes that began exploding under the heat of the flames.
WATER WOES
Three smaller fires in the county also stretched firefighting resources that had already been exhausted, with water shortages affecting the Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire has consumed 6406 hectares.
A sixth fire was later confirmed to have begun in the Hollywood Hills.
"There are not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude," said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
Demand for water also caused some hydrants to run dry in Pacific Palisades after the last of three large water tanks in the area hit empty, officials said.
"We pushed the system to the extreme. We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging," Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told a news conference.
Pacific Palisades relies on three tanks that hold about 3.78 million litres (1 million gallons) each, and the demand for water to fight fires at lower elevations was making it difficult to refill water tanks at higher elevations, she said.
Some hydrants ran dry about 3am (local time). With winds and smoke limiting the ability to offer air support, firefighters were left without enough water to battle the flames.
Nestled in the hills with spectacular ocean views, Pacific Palisades is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the country with a median home price of $US4.5 million.
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 in the picturesque neighbourhood between the beach towns of Santa Monica and Malibu.
Actor Steve Guttenberg told KTLA television that friends of his were impeded from evacuating because others had abandoned their cars in the road.
"It's really important for everybody to band together and don't worry about your personal property. Just get out.
"Get your loved ones and get out."
"Heartbreaking, devastating, beyond belief," Maria Shriver, a journalist and the former first lady of California when she was married to actor and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote on X on Wednesday. "Everything is gone. Our neighbourhood, our restaurants."
"The firefighters have and are doing their best," Shriver added, "but this fire is massive and out of control."
The day after actor James Woods evacuated his house in Pacific Palisades, he said "every house around us was on fire."
"We were literally in the exact epicentre of the fire as it started," Woods, known for roles in Ghosts of Mississippi and Any Given Sunday, said on CNN on Wednesday. "There was so much chaos. It was like an inferno."
Strong, dry winds fanned the Palisades blaze, and the area's narrow, winding streets combined with the rush of thousands of people ordered to evacuate created long delays and traffic jams.
"It is surreal here in Los Angeles," actor Henry Winkler wrote on X. "It is biblical. So many people have lost everything."
Oscar winner Curtis said she was safe but "my community and possibly my home is on fire."
"It is a terrifying situation," she wrote on Instagram. "Pray if you believe in it and even if you don't, pray for those who do."
Mark Hamill, known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, said the blaze was the "most horrific" since 1993. He said on Instagram that he evacuated his home in Malibu on Tuesday evening with his wife and dog.
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 pledged any help he could provide in his final days in office before handing off to President-elect Donald Trump on January 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."
"We are absolutely not out of danger yet, with the strong winds that continue to push through the city and the county today," Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.
As the flames spread and residents began evacuating after the fires broke out on Tuesday, roads were so jammed that some people abandoned their vehicles to escape the fire. Emergency responders were going door to door to press evacuation orders.
Shaun Tate, 45, said he fled his home in Altadena, a Los Angeles suburb in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, at 4.15am when he saw flames rolling towards his house.
"I came out of the house because I heard something fly off the roof," Tate said at an evacuation centre in Pasadena.
"We packed up the SUV and drove down here," he said. "I chose to save my laptop, my diabetic medication and a little bit of food."
"People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside. The palm trees - everything is going," Festa said from her car.
David Reed said he had no choice but to leave his Pacific Palisades home when police officers showed up at his door and "laid down the law" as he saw flames approaching his home.
"I grabbed my trombone and the latest book I've been reading, which is my Jack Kerouac anthology here, because I'm a beatnik," Reed said.
Approximately 100 of the 1000 public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District were shut down, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told a news conference.
