LOS ANGELES, Jan 12: Firefighters battled Sunday to get on top of massive wildfires around Los Angeles as winds ramped up, pushing the blazes toward previously untouched neighborhoods.
At least 16 people were confirmed dead from fires that have ripped through the city, leaving communities in ruins and testing the mettle of thousands of firefighters -- and millions of California residents.
Despite heroic efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades Fire continued to grow, pushing east towards the priceless collections of the Getty Center art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.
In some areas, the fire had turned houses to ashes and left streaks of molten metal flowing from burnt-out cars.
Footage from the Mandeville Canyon area showed one home consumed, with a wall of flame licking up a hillside to menace others.
A brief lull in the wind was rapidly giving way to gusts that forecasters warned would feed the blazes for days to come.
"Critical fire-weather conditions will unfortunately ramp up again today for southern California and last through at least early next week," the National Weather Service said.
"This may lead to the spread of ongoing fires as well as the development of new ones."
The Palisades Fire was 11 percent contained Saturday but had grown to 23,600 acres (9,500 hectares), while the Eaton Fire was at 14,000 acres and 15 percent contained.
Official figures show more than 12,000 structures burned, but Cal Fire's Todd Hopkins said not all were homes, and the number would also include outbuildings, recreational vehicles and sheds.
The sudden rush of people needing somewhere new to live in the months ahead looked set to make life hard for already-squeezed renters in the city.
"I'm back on the market with tens of thousands of people," said a man who gave his name as Brian, whose rent-controlled apartment has burned. "That doesn't bode well."
With reports of looting and a nighttime curfew in place, police and National Guard have mounted checkpoints to prevent people getting into the disaster zones.
Two people were arrested near Vice President Kamala Harris's Brentwood house for violating the curfew order after police recieved reports of burglary, local media reported citing police.
Meanwhile, health bosses warned people living in Los Angeles on Saturday to stay indoors because of dangerous wildfire smoke wreathing the area.
Monster blazes tearing through America's second largest city are pumping toxic clouds into the air, blanketing a vast region with choking fumes.
"We are all experiencing this wildfire smoke, which is a mix of small particles, gasses and water vapors," Anish Mahajan of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health told a press conference. —AFP
