Curfews as death toll from Los Angeles-area fires rises to 10

Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles Picture: Ethan Swope/AP

The death toll has risen to 10 from the Los Angeles-area fires, according to the county coroner’s office.

The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley near the West Hills neighbourhood and close to Ventura County.

Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed seven people so far.

“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen on Thursday evening through to Friday morning.

The orders came as Los Angeles County officials announced the Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started on Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed more than 5,300 structures.

An emergency vehicle drives through a neighbourhood devastated by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California (John Locher/AP)

Between the Eaton and Palisades fires, more than 10,000 structures have burned.

All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the Los Angeles area are located in a roughly 25-mile band north of downtown.

At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 sq m — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

All schools in the Los Angeles unified school district, the nation’s second largest, will be closed on Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts, and classes will not resume until the conditions improve, officials said.

At least 20 arrests have been made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said.

National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. The county sheriff said to protect properties they will be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6pm until 6am.

The Kenneth blaze ignited less than two miles (3.2 kilometres) away from the El Camino Real Charter High School, where people are sheltering from the fire in Palisades. The two fires are about 10 miles (18 kilometres) apart.

Dozens of blocks were flattened to smouldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were lost. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s.

The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.

Firefighters made significant gains on Thursday at slowing the spread of the Eaton and Palisades fires, though Eaton remained at 0% contained and Palisades at only a small percentage.

Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills, allowing an evacuation to be lifted on Thursday. The fire that sparked up late on Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.

“While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide is turning,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Thursday.

Water dropped from aircraft helped fire crews quickly seize control of the fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, officials said. Much of the widespread destruction occurred on Tuesday after those aircraft were grounded due to high winds.

Fire officials said on Thursday that they do not yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating.