Two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west were still burning uncontained on Thursday, but a brief respite from the fierce winds that have fanned the flames for two days allowed crews to slow their explosive spread.
The Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming nearly 28,000 acres so far — an area exceeding the size of Disney World — and turning entire neighborhoods to ash.
At least five people have been killed, thousands of structures have been incinerated and nearly 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes, with another 200,000 under evacuation warnings, officials said.