A palm tree burns as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, US, January 8, 2025. (REUTERS/David Swanson)

Hurricane-force winds hindered firefighting operations and spread the fires, which have burned unimpeded since they began on Tuesday.

But instead of packing hurricane-like humidity, the dry wind fanned the flames over already parched terrain, and the two most dangerous fires continued to grow as the sun set on Wednesday, officials said.

A new fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a press conference, forcing more evacuations and raising to six the number of wildfires burning in Los Angeles County.

All of them were 0% contained according to state officials, including a pair of conflagrations that held the city in a pincer move.

On the west side, the Palisades Fire consumed 15,832 acres (6,406 hectares) and 1,000 structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. It was already one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history.

Aerial video by KTLA television showed block after block of smoldering homes in Pacific Palisades, the smoky grid occasionally punctuated by the orange blaze of another home still on fire.

To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eaton Fire claimed another 10,600 acres (4,289 hectares), another 1,000 structures, and killed at least five people, officials said. Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated initial damage and economic loss at more than 50 billion USD.