Firefighters raced to cut off spreading wildfires on Saturday before the return of potentially strong winds that could push the flames toward the world-famous J Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
A fierce battle against the flames was under way in Mandeville Canyon – not far from the Pacific coast where Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities live – where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill.
Firefighters on the ground used hoses in an attempt to beat back leaping flames as thick smoke blanketed the chaparral-covered hillside.
At a briefing, CalFire operations chief Christian Litz said a main focus on Saturday would be the Palisades fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus.
German opposition leader’s hopes of becoming chancellor hang in the balance as economic plan fails to convince
Hostile actions ‘are real and accelerating’: is Russia already at war with the West?
The Sequoia, like Jimmy Carter, redolent of a very different era
Money still oils the wheels of business and justice in China, in spite of Xi’s corruption clampdown
“We need to be aggressive out there,” Mr Litz said.
County supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the LA area “had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak, and even more Angelenos evacuated due to the northeast expansion of the Palisades fire”.
Only light breezes were fanning the flames, but the national weather service warned that locally strong Santa Ana winds – the nemesis of firefighters – could soon return.
Those winds have been blamed for turning wildfires into infernos that have levelled entire neighbourhoods in the LA area, where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.
The fire also was threatening to jump over Interstate 405, a main traffic artery through the area, which could become a gateway to densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
Even as the fires spread, the grim work of sifting through the devastation continued on Saturday, with teams conducting systematic grid searches with cadaver dogs, said Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna.
A family assistance centre was also being set up in Pasadena, said Mr Luna, who urged residents to abide by curfews.
“We have people driving up and around trying to get in just to look. Stay away,” he said. “We understand that this is extremely stressful and absolutely challenging, but we appreciate the public’s co-operation as we work together to get through this crisis.”
The fires have consumed about 145sq km – an area larger than San Francisco.
Tens of thousands of people remained under evacuation orders and new evacuations were ordered on Friday evening in an area that includes part of Interstate 405 after a flare-up on the eastern side of the Palisades fire.
On Friday, many residents returned to the area in a state of shock.
For some, it was a first look at the stark reality of what was lost as the region of 13 million people grapples with the ominous challenge of overcoming the disaster and rebuilding.
Bridget Berg, who was at work when she saw on TV her house in Altadena erupt in flames, went back for the first time with her family two days later “just to make it real”.
Their feet crunched across the broken pieces of what had been their home for 16 years.
Her children sifted through debris on the footpath, finding a clay pot and a few keepsakes as they searched for Japanese wood prints they hoped to recover.
Her husband pulled his hand out of rubble near the still-standing fireplace, holding up a piece of petrified wood handed down by his grandmother.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Ms Berg said as much to herself as others as she took stock of the destruction, remembering the patio and pool from which her family watched fireworks.
“It’s not like we just lost our house, everybody lost their house.”
Since the fires first began popping up around a densely populated, 40km expanse north of downtown LA, they have burned more than 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
No cause has been identified yet for the largest fires.
Allegations of leadership failures and political blame have begun alongside investigations.
Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon (440 million-litre) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants had run dry.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley said city leadership had failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting. She also criticised the lack of water.
“When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” she said.
At least 11 people have been killed, five in the Palisades fire and six in the Eaton fire, according to the LA county medical examiner’s office.
The disaster took homes from everyone – from waiters to movie stars.
The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage, but private firms have estimated it will climb into the tens of billions.
The Walt Disney Co announced on Friday that it would donate $15 million (€14.6 million) to respond to the fires and help rebuild.
The flames hit schools, churches, a synagogue, libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and local landmarks including the Will Rogers western ranch house and a Queen Anne-style mansion in Altadena that had stood since 1887. – AP