Firefighters are racing to cut off spreading wildfires around Los Angeles before potentially strong winds return, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
An intense effort was under way on Saturday in the upscale Los Angeles neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades, after the wildfire there expanded into additional areas overnight.
Residents were warned of potential worsening weather conditions over the coming days that could further stoke the blaze.
Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins told reporters at a news conference that the Palisades Fire had spread into the Mandeville Canyon neighbourhood and threatened to jump into Brentwood, an upscale neighbourhood.
Cal Fire Operations Chief Christian Litz said a main focus on Saturday would be the Palisades Fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus.
“We need to be aggressive out there,” Litz said.
Meanwhile, evacuation orders throughout the Los Angeles area now cover 153,000 residents, with 57,000 structures at risk.
Another 166,000 residents have been warned that they may have to evacuate, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
Luna added that his agency has dispatched 40 search-and-rescue team workers to work jointly with other agencies, including the use of cadaver dogs to search for remains of victims and to help reunite families that have been separated.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
