Firefighters in Los Angeles are battling a number of blazes in city suburbs, as tens of thousands of residents are forced to flee.
The rapidly changing situation is compounded by Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions. Currently, authorities say there is no possibility of bringing the fires under control.
The Palisades fire, which is closest to the coast and also the largest, has ripped through picturesque suburbs which are home to many Hollywood stars. More than 1,000 buildings have already been destroyed.
Here’s how the fires have spread and are affecting the Los Angeles area.
An overview of the current fires
Four major fires are currently being tackled.
The Palisades fire was first reported at 10:30 (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday, and grew in just 20 minutes from a blaze of 20 acres to more than 200 acres, and by Wednesday night was approaching 16,000 acres. At least 30,000 people have so far been ordered to leave their homes.
The Eaton fire grew to cover 1,000 acres within the first six hours of breaking out. It started in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena at around 18:30 local time on Tuesday. By Wednesday night, five deaths had been reported and it had spread to more than 10,000 acres.
The Hurst fire is located just north of San Fernando. It began burning on Tuesday at around 22:10 local time, growing to 500 acres, according to local officials. It has triggered evacuation orders in neighbouring Santa Clarita.
The latest of the four fires is the Woodley fire, had shrunk to 30 acres in size. It broke out at approximately 06:15 local time on Wednesday.
How did the Palisades fire spread?
The map above shows how rapidly the Palisades fire spread, intensifying in a matter of hours. At just after 14:00 on Tuesday it covered 772 acres and within four hours it had expanded approximately to its current size.
Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, as more than 1,400 firefighters try to tackle the blaze.
How does the Palisades fire compare in size with New York and London?
To give an idea of the size of the Palisades fire, we have superimposed it on to maps of New York and London.
As you can see, it is comparable in size with the central area of UK’s capital, or with large areas of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
How the fires look from space
Another indication of the scale of the Palisades fire comes from Nasa’s Earth Observatory.
The images captured on Tuesday show a huge plume of smoke emanating from California and drifting out to sea.
Effects of the Eaton fire
The Palisades fire is not the only one to have a devastating effect on neighbourhoods of Los Angeles.
The above images show the Jewish Temple in Pasadena before and during the Eaton fire.
The Jewish Temple and Centre’s website says it has been in use since 1941 and has a congregation of more than 400 familes.
