Multiple massive wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 structures and killing at least two people as desperate residents escaped through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke.

Four major blazes were burning in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed Rose Parade. One of them – the Eaton Fire – stands to become the largest wildfire to burn in California during the month of January in the past 41 years.

With thousands of firefighters already attacking the flames, the Los Angeles Fire Department put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help, and weather conditions were too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight.

In addition to the five deaths, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said many others were hurt in the fires, which threatened at least 28,000 structures.

Images of the devastation showed luxurious homes that had collapsed in a whirlwind of flaming embers. The tops of palm trees whipped against a glowing red sky.

At least 130,000 people were ordered to evacuate – a number that kept changing because evacuation orders were continually being issued, officials said. The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighbourhoods home to California’s rich and famous. Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, were among those forced to flee.

On Wednesday around 5:45 p.m., a fast-moving fire broke out in the hills above Hollywood Boulevard and threatened some of the most popular Los Angeles tourist spots as firefighters battled to get control.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame was bustling and the streets around the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were packed with stop-and-go traffic as sirens blared and low-flying helicopters flew overhead to dump water on the flames, which were only about a mile away. People toting suitcases left hotels while some onlookers walked toward the flames, recording the fire on their phones.

Fires started Tuesday, including near a nature preserve in the foothills northeast of LA and spread rapidly.

Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity homes and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin’ USA.” In the race to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.

A traffic jam prevented emergency vehicles from getting through, and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway.

A third wildfire started Tuesday evening and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that’s the northernmost neighbourhood in Los Angeles.

California’s wildfire season typically begins in June or July and runs through October, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, but January wildfires are not unprecedented. There was one in 2022 and 10 in 2021, according to CalFire.

The season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, the association said.

“This will likely be the most destructive windstorm seen (since a) 2011 windstorm that did extensive damage to Pasadena and nearby foothills of the San Gabriel Valley,” the weather service said in a red-flag warning issued early Wednesday.

Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said much of the city was under evacuation orders as his department waited for winds to die down so aircraft could start dousing the flames.

The fire burned through Temescal Canyon, a popular hiking area surrounded by dense neighbourhoods of multimillion-dollar homes. Flames also jumped famous Sunset Boulevard and burned parts of the Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie,” the 2003 remake of “Freaky Friday” and the TV series “Teen Wolf.”

By early Wednesday, the Eaton Fire, which started the day before, had quickly burned 9 sq. km., according to fire officials. The Hurst Fire jumped to nearly 2.6 sq. m. and the Palisades Fire had burned 11.6 sq. m., according to Angeles National Forest. All fires were at 0% containment.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.25 cm. of rain since early May.

The winds increased to 129 kph by early Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service.

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