Multiple major wildfires blazing across Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, has killed at least five people and damaged at least 1,100 buildings, authorities said.
The Palisades fire, a devastating wind-driven brush fire in Pacific Palisades that started Tuesday, grew to 15,800 acres (63.9 square km) as of Wednesday afternoon with zero containment, Cal Fire said Wednesday.
"Extreme fire behaviour, including short and long-range spotting, continues to challenge firefighting efforts for the Palisades Fire," noted Cal Fire in an update.
About 1,000 structures had been destroyed so far, mainly expensive homes that dot the areas between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, as the fire forces thousands to flee amid new evacuation warnings for Malibu, according to the Xinhua news agency.
In a wealthy community 32 km west of downtown Los Angeles, many landmarks were threatened by fire, including the sumptuous Getty Villa museum, which displays Greek and Roman antiquities, and the mid-century modern Eames House.
Three schools in Palisades reportedly were significantly damaged by the blaze.
The Eaton fire, which erupted on Tuesday evening, had already consumed more than 10,600 acres (42.9 square km) near Altadena and Pasadena, two neighboring cities of Los Angeles, killing five people and seriously injuring many others, according to fire and police officials.
Firefighters are working aggressively to slow the spread of the blaze and protect critical infrastructure under extreme conditions, Cal Fire said.
Meanwhile, the Hurst fire, which spread quickly during high winds overnight in Sylmar, had scorched over 700 acres (2.83 square km) as of Wednesday afternoon.
The authorities blamed the dangerous wildfire situation in Southern California on the combination of strong winds, very low relative humidity and dry vegetation as extraordinarily powerful winds and gusts — of up to 160 kph — were reported overnight.
The situation will remain quite dangerous as it has been described with a Red Flag Warning due to a windy situation, meaning a high wind warning, set to last from Wednesday evening throughout Thursday afternoon across the region.
According to Los Angeles-based Local TV station KTLA on Wednesday afternoon, widespread power outages caused by wildfires in several Southern California counties, including Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego, were leaving more than 4 million customers.
California governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate due to a fast-moving wildfire in Southern California.
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