Raging Fires Ravage Los Angeles

At least five people were killed and tens of thousands were forced to evacuate as wildfires devastated the Los Angeles area and stretched the region's firefighting resources to its limits.

One wind-fueled fire tore through the affluent oceanside Pacific Palisades neighborhood while another, responsible for all of the deaths, burned in and around Pasadena to the east of Los Angeles. Portions of Hollywood were ordered to evacuate Wednesday evening as a new fire broke out in the hills above the center of the city.

At least 2,000 structures were damaged or destroyed, including two elementary schools and part of a high school that were consumed by flames, officials said. Hollywood studios stopped production, movie premieres were canceled, schools and tourist attractions closed and a Los Angeles Kings hockey game was postponed.

The unprecedented scale of the fires was a result of a combination of deadly weather conditions-hurricane-force winds and tinder-dry brush.

"This is the worst one I've seen," said Tim McKeon, a 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, who paused for a break Wednesday morning in Santa Monica.

"By the time we got to a house and put the fire out, the fire had spread to three or four other houses," McKeon said. The wind was so strong that it blew hose streams away from their targets, he said.

The two largest fires, the Eaton fire in the Pasadena area and the Palisades fire, were completely uncontained Wednesday night. More than 27,000 acres were on fire. At least 130,000 residents in the Los Angeles area are under evacuation orders, and more than 28,000 homes, businesses and other buildings are at risk in the area's two largest fires, officials said.

President Biden, who has been in Los Angeles this week, visited a fire station in Santa Monica on Wednesday.

"We're doing anything and everything and as long as it takes to contain these fires," Biden said in Los Angeles.

"It's going to be a hell of a long way. It's going to take time." Later in the day he canceled a planned trip to Italy to deal with the disaster.

Mayor Karen Bass warned that the region would continue to face strong and erratic winds that could further spread the blazes.

Winds littered streets with palm fronds, ash and debris, while some streets were lined with cars abandoned by people trapped in gridlock traffic and desperate to flee. Hundreds of thousands were without power.

"This is a tragic time in our history here in Los Angeles," Los Angeles City Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. "It's critical that at these times we be patient, that we come together, that we focus on saving lives." Firefighters were battling six separate fires in the region.

The Hollywood Hills brush fire broke out as officials were holding a press briefing Wednesday evening, prompting the city fire chief to leave early. The causes of the fires were being investigated.

The fight against the Palisades fire was slowed when 20% of approximately 1,000 hydrants in the area ran out of water. Janisse Quiñones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said high winds made it impossible for firefighters to combat the blazes from the air, forcing them to rely on hydrants that are typically used to combat single-home fires.

Three water tankers in the Palisades, which were each filled up with one million gallons of water on Monday night, ran dry.

"We tried three contingency plans and they all failed because in hazardous conditions, the crew had to be evacuated," Quiñones said. "We have not given up and expect to have a solution soon." Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said he requested additional resources from out of state.

There was a "high number" of injuries among residents who didn't evacuate their homes, Marrone said. A 25year-old female firefighter suffered a serious head injury, officials said. Three people were arrested for looting, according to the county sheriff.

The county Fire Department positioned firefighters ahead of the forecast weather this week, Marrone said. But they were not prepared for this widespread and devastating of an event.

Powerful Santa Ana winds were expected to continue for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties into Thursday, with gusts up to 70 miles an hour in some areas. Publicsafety officials warned that the strong winds could continue for much of the week.

Destructive wildfires were primed to explode from dry brush and high winds blowing flames into heavily populated areas. The fire erupted in January, during what is usually California's rainy season.

This year, however, Southern California has seen one of its driest seasons on record.

Downtown Los Angeles has received just 0.16 inch of rain since Oct. 1, compared with a normal total of 4.56 so far, according to the National Weather Service.

-Meghan Bobrowsky, Jim Carlton, Victoria Albert, Ellen Gamerman, Joe Flint, Patrick Thomas and Annie Linskey contributed to this article.