The worst is Yet to come

No reprieve in sight as hellish blazes rip through Los Angeles | Celebs abandon homes as 100,000 residents told to flee

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

AT least two people were reported killed yesterday as wildfires tore through Southern California.

And worried officials and experts have warned that there's no let-up to the nightmare in sight.

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said: "This event is just getting started - it will get significantly worse before it gets better."

Residents yesterday evacuated from Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Malibu, and Calabasas as infernos spread. The Palisades blaze alone was devouring land at the rate of five football pitches per minute, in what is an affluent coastal neighbourhood. Swain said: "It is plausible that the Palisades fire will become the cost- liest on record, not just in California but in general."

Actor Steve Guttenberg, who lives in Palisades, urged people who ditched their cars to leave their keys behind. "This is not a parking lot," he told TV station KTLA. "I have friends up there and they can't evacuate."

Fire officials in at least one area had to use a bulldozer to clear abandoned vehicles. Ben Affleck was among those fleeing, seen heading to the home of his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.