Thousands flee as wildfires wreak havoc in Los Angeles

Wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force after setting off a desperate escape from burning homes through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke.

Officials on Wednesday didn't give an estimate of structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but they said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were under threat.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 200,000 people were without power in Los Angeles County, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us, due to the strong winds.

The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living centre had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot.

Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences.

In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.

The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path.

The fires at higher elevations were preventing utility crews from getting water to refill tanks, the Los Angeles Department of Wind and Power said in a statement Tuesday night.

A third wildfire started around 0630 GMT and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighbourhood in Los Angeles.

The causes of all three fires were under investigation.

Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 97 kph in some places Tuesday, increasing to 112 kph by early on Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.

They could top 160 kph in mountains and foothills including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.